S3E05 | He Sure Had a Lot of Gall | 卧薪尝胆
Saying: “To lie on firewood and taste bile”
Pinyin: Wò Xīn Cháng Dǎn
Chinese: 卧薪尝胆
Welcome to the midway point of Season 3 of the Chinese Sayings Podcast. China History Podcast fans will all know this story from which our Chengyu was derived. These are the early years of the Warring States period. Kings Goujian of Yue State and Fuchai of Wu were slugging it out down in Central China.
From this epic struggle between these two neighboring rivals came one of the great stories from ancient Chinese history that has been told and re-told throughout the centuries.
Let’s hear it one more time in this episode and learn what’s up with “lying on brushwood and tasting bile.”
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Battle of Zuìlǐ | 槜李之战 | The Battle of Zuili |
| Cháng | 尝 | to taste something ...to try some food out |
| Cháng dǎn | 尝胆 | to taste bile |
| Chǔ | 楚国 | The Chu State down in Central China |
| Dǎn | 胆 | gall bladder or in this case the bile from the gall bladder |
| Huái River | 淮河 | One of the major rivers of China |
| Hàojīng | 镐京 | Ancient capital of Zhou, |
| Hán Gōu | 汗垢 | The Han Canal, forerunner to the Grand Canal |
| Jiāngsū | 江苏 | Zhejiang's neighbor to the west and north |
| Jìn | 晋国 | The Jin State around present-day Shanxi |
| King Fúchāi | 夫差王 | Son of Helü, king of Wu |
| King Gōujiàn | 勾践王 | King of Yue |
| King Hélú | 阖闾王 | Father of Fuchai, King of the Wu State |
| Luòyáng | 洛阳 | Ancient "Eastern" capital of a few dynasties, located in Henan, "where China began" |
| Qín | 秦朝 | The Qin Dynasty |
| Qín Shǐhuáng | 秦始皇 | The first emperor of imperial China |
| Shànghǎi | 上海 | Where the Yangzi empties out into the East China Sea |
| Sì Dà Měi Nü | 四大美女 | The Four Beauties of Ancient China |
| Sūn Wǔ | 孙吴 | Sun Tzu's name |
| Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ | 孙子兵法 | The Art of War by Sun Tzu |
| Sūzhōu | 苏州 | Ancient city in Jiangsu Province |
| Wò | 卧 | to lie....as in to lie on something, to lie down |
| Wò xīn | 卧薪 | to lie on firewood |
| Wò Xīn Cháng Dǎn | 卧薪尝胆 | To lie on firewood and taste bile |
| Wú State | 吴国 | The State of Wu |
| Wǔhàn | 武汉 | The historic "Tri-Cities" of Hubei Province |
| Xī Shī | 西施 | A charming beauty from Yue sent to Wu as a ploy by Goujian to distract Fuchai |
| Xīn | 薪 | firewood |
| Yuè | 越国 | The Yue State |
| Yángzǐ | 扬子江 | Longest river in china |
| Zhèjiāng | 浙江 | East Coast province in China |
| Zhōu Dynasty | 周朝 | Ancient dynasty 1046 - 221 BCE |
