During the Spring and Autumn Period, the small state of Zheng was caught between the giants Jin and Chu. In 597 BC, Chu attacked Zheng and forced its surrender. Jin dispatched troops to help. The Jin commander wanted to halt, but his deputy disagreed. Luan Shu, another general, argued: 'We should not attack. Chu constantly reminds its people of their ancestors spirit: In a cart of brambles, in tattered clothes, they opened the mountains and forests. How can we say Chu is arrogant when they live by such discipline?' The phrase describes the Chu founders who built their kingdom from nothing - riding rough-hewn carts, wearing ragged clothes, clearing wilderness with their own hands.
春秋时，小小郑国，地处晋、楚两大国之间。《左传·宣公十二年》记载：那年春天，楚国攻打郑国，郑国抵挡不住，只得向楚国求和。晋国得到消息，立刻派兵抗楚救郑。晋军的中军主将荀林父等部分将领主张停止进军。而中军副将先縀和另一部分将领却不同意。下军副将栾书说：不行，楚国经常教诫全国军民，要发扬他们祖先筚路蓝缕以启山林的精神，勤俭建国，艰苦奋斗。有什么理由说他们骄傲了？筚路，是用荆竹树枝等编制成的大车，或者叫做柴车；蓝缕，即褴褛，破烂的衣服。启，就是开。这句话是说，驾着柴车，穿着破衣，去开发荒山野林。形容俭朴的创业生活和艰苦的奋斗精神。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
Great empires begin with hardship and humility. The idiom celebrates the pioneer spirit - the willingness to endure hardship in pursuit of something greater.
Great empires begin with hardship and humility. The idiom celebrates the pioneer spirit - the willingness to endure hardship in pursuit of something greater.