The idiom "Sleeping on the brushwood and tasting gall" means that people work hard to encourage themselves and strive to be strong. They do not forget to find solutions in the midst of suffering, and they are silent and patient, ready to go. The hero of this idiom is Gou Jian, whose spirit of not being a slave has been handed down to this day.
The Story of Gou Jian, King of Yue, Sleeping on the brushwood and tasting gall
Gou Jian succeeded to the throne at the age of 23, and soon after he succeeded to the throne, he defeated the powerful State of Wu. It can be said that he was full of ambition, but Gou Jian was certainly "successful" at this time. Because the powerful State of Wu was making great efforts to humiliate, a disaster of destruction immediately fell on the young king and his country.
He Lu died of injury, and his son Fu Chai was determined to avenge him. Gou Jian took the initiative to attack Wu the following year. At Fujiaoshan (now the southwest of Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province), there was a fierce battle with Wu soldiers, and the Yue soldiers were defeated.
Gou Jian retreated to Kuaiji Mountain (now south of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) and begged Wu Chengchen for peace with Fan Li's plan. For five years, Gou Jian led his wife and his minister Fan Li to go to Wu to serve as a minister and his husband sent him to Wu. When he arrived at the capital of Wu, Gou Jian endured humiliation, claimed to be a humble minister, and was extremely respectful to the king of Wu. He ate coarse grain, slept in a stable, and performed hard labor. "He wore a calf nose and a woodcutter's head, and his wife wore clothes that were not destined to be worn, and practiced Zuoguan."
Serve the errand carefully, be obedient, keep horses, and give water, defecate, and sweep. Three years without sulk and hatred. Better than the servants of the master.
Gou Jian returned to Vietnam for seven years (30 years old). After his return, he spread firewood without bedding in order to encourage himself not to forget revenge. Hang a gall bladder in the room, and try it before every meal. This is the origin of the allusion of "hardships and hardships".
Finally, Gou Jian took advantage of the emptiness of the Wu Kingdom in the Central Plains and the domestic natural disasters to defeat the Wu Kingdom. Gou Jian was 24 years old (47 years old). After Wu Du was besieged for three years, the city was broken, and Fu Chai committed suicide. Wu perished. Later, Gou Jian sailed into the north, where Song, Zheng, Lu, Wei and other countries were annexed, and moved their capital to Langya (today's Jiaonannan, Shandong). He joined forces with the princes of Qi and Jin, and was officially recognized as the overlord by the King of Zhou and Yuan.
Which period did King Gou Jian of Yue belong to
Gou Jian, the King of Yue, was born about 520 BC and died about 465 BC. He took the surname of Si and his real name was Jiuqian. Due to the different Chinese characters in ancient times, he was transliterated into Gou Jian, also known as Gui Zhi, a descendant of Xia Yu, the son of Yue King Yunchang, and the king of Yue.
In 496 BC, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, ascended the throne. In the same year, he defeated the Wu division in Zuli. In 494 years before, Gou Jian, the King of Yue, was defeated by the Wu army and forced to ask Wu for peace. Three years later, he was released back to Yue. After his return, he put Fan Li and Wenzhong in high position, and gradually recovered the national strength of Yue.
Because of his allusion of "hardships and hardships", Goujian has now become a model image of the Chinese people who are not afraid of failure and humiliation and dare to struggle.
How did Gou Jian, the King of Yue, turn over
During the reign of Yun Chang, the father of Gou Jian, King of Yue, resented Helu, King of Wu, and attacked each other. After the death of Yunchang, the king of Wu set up an army to fight against Yue. Gou Jian, the new ruler of the State of Yue, sent brave men to challenge the Wu army. The brave men formed three lines and rushed to the front of the Wu army, shouting that they would kill themselves. The soldiers of Wu were frightened, and the Vietnamese took the opportunity to attack the troops of Wu and shot and wounded King Helu of Wu. The army of Wu was defeated, Helu died, and King Fuchai of Wu ascended the throne.
After he ascended the throne, Fu Chai trained his troops day and night to take revenge on Yue. When Goujian heard that, he did not listen to the advice of the minister and sent troops to attack the State of Wu. As a result, he was surrounded by Wu troops in Kuaiji Mountain.
Following the advice of Fan Li and Wen Zhong, Gou Jian humbly begged for peace from King Wu and was willing to be a subordinate of the State of Wu, and personally served as a slave to King Fu Chai. Fu Chai agreed with Gou Jian's request, did not destroy the State of Yue, and gave the State of Yue the opportunity to avenge its humiliation.
A few years later, the King of Wu pardoned the King of Yue. After Gou Jian returned home, he removed his mattress and used the firewood floor as his bed. He hung the gall bladder beside his seat. He could taste the gall bladder when sitting down. "Sleeping on the grain and tasting the gall bladder" encouraged him not to forget the shame of Kuaiji and swore revenge.
"Sleeping on the brushwood and tasting gall" shows the determination of Goujian, the king of Yue, to revitalize the country of Yue and revenge. The key reason why he was able to destroy the wish of Wu was that he adopted the planned policy of making the country rich and powerful.
