俯首听命 fǔ shǒu tīng mìng Obey orders

Explanation

形容人驯顺听从命令的样子。

Describes the obedient way in which someone follows orders.

Origin Story

话说古代有一位骁勇善战的大将军，屡立战功，威震四方。然而，在一次战役中，他遭遇了惨败，失去了大部分兵力。他意识到自己指挥失误，深感羞愧。回朝后，他并没有为自己辩解，而是主动向皇帝请罪，并甘愿接受任何处罚。皇帝见他如此坦诚悔过，便宽恕了他的过错，并重新委以重任。从此以后，这位将军更加谨慎小心，认真学习兵法，最终成为一代名将，在战场上所向披靡。他用自己的实际行动诠释了“俯首听命”的含义，即在必要的时候，要放下身段，虚心接受批评，认真改正错误，才能不断进步和成长。

huà shuō gǔ dài yǒu yī wèi xiāo yǒng shàn zhàn de dà jiāng jūn, lǚ lì zhàn gōng, wēi zhèn sì fāng. rán ér, zài yī cì zhàn yì zhōng, tā zāo yù le cǎn bài, shī qù le dà bù fèn bīng lì. tā yì shí dào zì jǐ zhǐ huī shī wù, shēn gǎn xiū kuì. huí cháo hòu, tā bìng méi yǒu wèi zì jǐ biàn jiě, ér shì zhǔ dòng xiàng huáng dì qǐng zuì, bìng gān yuàn jiē shòu rèng hé chǔ fá. huáng dì jiàn tā rú cǐ tǎn chéng huǐ guò, biàn kuān shù le tā de guò cuò, bìng chóng xīn wěi yǐ chóng rèn. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, zhè wèi jiāng jūn gèng jiā jǐn shèn xiǎo xīn, rèn zhēn xué xí bīng fǎ, zuì zhōng chéng wéi yī dài míng jiàng, zài zhàn chǎng shàng suǒ xiàng pī mǐ. tā yòng zì jǐ de shí jì xíng dòng quán shì le “fǔ shǒu tīng mìng” de hán yì, jí zài bì yào de shí hòu, yào fàng xià shēn duàn, xū xīn jiē shòu pī píng, rèn zhēn gǎi zhèng cuò wù, cái néng bù duàn jìn bù hé chéng zhǎng.

In ancient times, there was a brave and battle-tested general who had many merits and was known far and wide. However, in one battle, he suffered a devastating defeat and lost most of his troops. He realized his mistakes in command and felt great shame. After returning to court, he didn't excuse himself but instead took the initiative to apologize to the emperor and was willing to accept any punishment. The emperor, seeing his sincere repentance, forgave his mistakes and entrusted him with important responsibilities again. From that day on, the general became even more cautious and diligently studied military strategy, eventually becoming a renowned general who was invincible on the battlefield. Through his actions, he demonstrated the meaning of “Fǔ shǒu tīng mìng”: In certain situations, one must humble themselves, accept criticism, and correct mistakes in order to continuously improve and grow.

Usage

用于形容人对命令的服从。多用于书面语。

yong yu xingrong ren dui ming ling de fu cong. duo yong yu shumian yu.

Used to describe a person's obedience to orders. Mostly used in written language.

Examples

• 士兵们个个俯首听命，服从指挥。

  bing shi men ge ge fu shou ting ming, fu cong zhi hui.

  The soldiers obeyed orders without question.

• 面对领导的批评，他只好俯首听命。

  mian dui ling dao de piping, ta zhi hao fu shou ting ming

  He had to obey the boss's instructions, although he was against it.

Related Idioms

• 俯首帖耳

• 唯命是从

• 毕恭毕敬

Opposite Idioms

• 桀骜不驯

• 不服从