Introduction to the story of sleeping on fuel and tasting courage

Translation:

Gou Jian, the king of Yue, was besieged in Kuaiji Mountain. He sighed: "Am I finished here?" Wen Zhong said: "The shopping mall was once imprisoned in Xiatai, and Zhou Wen Wang Zeng was imprisoned in Shili, Jin Wen Gong Zhong Dou (who had been manipulated) fled to Zhai State, Qi Huan Gong Xiaobai fled the chaos to Moss State, and they finally established their hegemony.

It can be seen from this. Why can't (sorrow) be turned into blessing?" The king of heaven pardoned the queen of Yue, and the king of Yue Gou Jian returned to his country. Then he experienced the pain personally and reflected deeply. He put gall next to his seat. When he was sitting or lying down, he looked up and saw gall. He also tasted gall and often said to himself: "Have you forgotten the shame of Kuaiji's failure?"

He farmed by himself, his wife weaved by herself, he didn't eat meat, and he didn't wear two or more kinds of clothing. He wears colorful clothes, puts down his dignity, treats magi, treats guests kindly, helps poor people, condolences the families of the deceased, and works as hard as the common people.

Original text:

When Gou Jian surrounded Kuaiji, he sighed and said, "Is this the end of everyone?" Zhong said, "Tang belongs to Xiatai, King Wen imprisoned Maili, and Jin Zhong Fighting against Zhai, Qi Xiaobai ran into hardship, and his death was overlorded. From this point of view, how could it not be a blessing?"

After Wu pardoned Yue, the king of Yue, Gou Jian, rebelled against the country, so he was suffering and worried. , place the gallbladder when sitting, the gallbladder will rise when sitting or lying down, and the gallbladder will also taste when eating and drinking. Said: "What is the shame and evil of women's ambitions in Kuaiji?"

The body is white and the work is done by the wife. She does not add meat to her food, and does not pay attention to the clothes. The common people work together.

Source

Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty's "A Reply to Cao Cao Written by Sun Quan": Since the servant received the inheritance, he has been lying down on his firewood, tasting his gallbladder, mourning the passing of the sun and the moon, and sighing that his fame has not been established. The minister has not repaid his loyalty, but I have given him a talisman to know the wisdom of others. Moreover, Quan's ancestors showed their virtues in Wu. If Quan had imitated the kings and had extraordinary ambitions, even if he was not killed by Xian, wouldn't his family's reputation be ruined? "

The original text of "Historical Records" is: "When Gou Jian, the king of Yue, returned to his country, he was suffering from anxiety and thinking. He placed his gallbladder in sitting. "There is only "taste the courage" here, and there is no mention of "lying on the salary". This is an idiom created by Su Shi using his imagination to joke about Sun Quan's "lying on the salary and tasting the courage".

Extended information:

Historical research on "lying on fuel and tasting courage"

1. The history of the two generations of kings "Ding Gong" and "Ai Gong" in "Zuo Zhuan" contains extensive descriptions of the state affairs when King Gou Jian of Yue was in power, but there is no mention that he had the habit of lying on fuel and tasting courage. The "Wu Yu" and "Yue Yu" in "Guoyu" record the battle between Wu and Yue, but there is no description of Gou Jian lying on the firewood and tasting courage.

In "Historical Records: The Family of King Gou Jian of Yue", it only records that Gou Jian: Before his bed. Sima Qian believed that Gou Jian had tasted gall when he was sitting or lying down, but he did not mention the idiom "lying on firewood to taste gall".

2. Su Shi, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a letter to Cao Cao written by Sun Quan in the Three Kingdoms. In the letter, Su Shi used his imagination to joke about Sun Quan's "sleeping on the salary and tasting courage"

< p>This thing that came out of nowhere has nothing to do with Gou Jian. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu Zuqian mentioned in "Legends of the Zuo Family" that King Wu Fu Chai "satisfied his courage" in the "Spring and Autumn Period" by Zhang Pu of the Ming Dynasty. In order to avenge his father, he took the courage to lie down on the firewood to encourage himself.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Lie on the firewood and taste the courage.