倾巢而出 qīng cháo ér chū go all out

Explanation

倾巢而出，指像鸟兽从巢穴里全部跑出来一样，比喻敌人全部出动。也指全部人员出动。

Qīng cháo ér chū means that everyone comes out like birds from their nests; it describes the complete mobilization of the enemy. It can also describe the complete mobilization of all employees.

Origin Story

话说三国时期，蜀汉丞相诸葛亮率兵北伐，与魏军在五丈原对峙。魏军主帅司马懿深知蜀军兵力不足，粮草匮乏，便采取坚壁清野的策略，拒不出战。诸葛亮见此，屡施反间计，并采取各种奇袭战术，但司马懿始终不动如山。诸葛亮焦急万分，他知道，若不能尽快击溃魏军，蜀军将面临更大的危机。于是，诸葛亮决定孤注一掷，下令蜀军倾巢而出，对魏军发起猛攻。魏军猝不及防，被蜀军打得措手不及，损失惨重。然而，司马懿却并未惊慌失措，他早已预料到诸葛亮会孤注一掷，早已在营寨周围布下了天罗地网。蜀军攻势虽然猛烈，但始终无法突破魏军的防线，最终只能无奈退兵。这场战役虽然蜀军并未取得最终的胜利，却也充分展现了诸葛亮孤注一掷的决心和蜀军的英勇无畏。这场倾巢而出的战役，也成为了三国历史上的一段佳话，让人们看到了战争的残酷以及战略决策的重要性。

huì shuō sān guó shí qī, shǔ hàn chéng xiàng zhū gě liàng shuài bīng běi fá, yǔ wèi jūn zài wǔ zhàng yuán duì zhì. wèi jūn zhǔ shuài sī mǎ yì shēn zhī shǔ jūn bīng lì bù zú, liáng cǎo kuì fá, biàn cǎi qǔ jiān bì qīng yě de cè lüè, jù bù chū zhàn. zhū gě liàng jiàn cǐ, lǚ shī fǎn jiān jì, bìng cǎi qǔ gè zhǒng qí xí zhàn shù, dàn sī mǎ yì shǐ zhōng bù dòng rú shān. zhū gě liàng jiāo jí wàn fēn, tā zhī dào, ruò bù néng jǐn kuài jī kuì wèi jūn, shǔ jūn jiāng miàn lín gèng dà de wēi jī. yú shì, zhū gě liàng jué dìng gū zhù yī zhì, xià lìng shǔ jūn qīng cháo ér chū, duì wèi jūn fā qǐ měng gōng. wèi jūn cù bù jí fáng, bèi shǔ jūn dǎ de cuò shǒu bù jí, sǔn shī cǎn zhòng. rán ér, sī mǎ yì què bìng wèi jīng huāng shī cuò, tā zǎo yǐ yù liào dào zhū gě liàng huì gū zhù yī zhì, zǎo yǐ zài yíng zhài zhōu wéi bù xià le tiān luó dì wǎng. shǔ jūn gōng shì suī rán měng liè, dàn shǐ zhōng wú fǎ tū pò wèi jūn de fáng xiàn, zuì zhōng zhǐ néng wú nài tuì bīng. zhè chǎng zhàn yì suī rán shǔ jūn bìng wèi qǔ dé zuì zhōng de shèng lì, què yě chōng fèn zhǎn xiàn le zhū gě liàng gū zhù yī zhì de jué xīn hé shǔ jūn de yīng yǒng wú wèi. zhè chǎng qīng cháo ér chū de zhàn yì, yě chéng le sān guó lì shǐ shang de yī duàn jiā huà, ràng rén men kàn dào le zhàn zhēng de cán kù yǐ jí zhàn lüè jué cè de zhòng yào xìng

During the Three Kingdoms period in China, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han, led his troops to a Northern campaign and confronted the Wei army at Wuzhangyuan. Sima Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Wei army, knew that the Shu army was short of troops and provisions, so he adopted a strategy of evading and avoiding battle. Zhuge Liang, seeing this, tried repeatedly to use deception and various surprise tactics, but Sima Yi remained unmoved. Zhuge Liang was extremely worried, knowing that if he could not defeat the Wei army quickly, the Shu army would face an even greater crisis. So, Zhuge Liang decided to gamble everything, ordering the Shu army to go all out and launch a fierce attack on the Wei army. The Wei army was caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. However, Sima Yi did not panic. He had already anticipated that Zhuge Liang would take this risk, having already laid traps around the camp. Although the Shu army's offensive was fierce, it was unable to break through the Wei army's defenses and was finally forced to retreat. While the Shu army did not win a final victory in this battle, it showed Zhuge Liang's determination to take a desperate gamble and the Shu army's bravery. This battle, where the whole army went into battle, became a memorable part of the history of the Three Kingdoms, showing the cruelty of war and the importance of strategic decision-making.

Usage

该成语主要用于形容敌方或一方出动全部兵力，也可以用于形容全力以赴。

gāi chéng yǔ zhǔ yào yòng yú xíng róng dí fāng huò yī fāng chū dòng quán bù bīng lì, yě kě yǐ yòng yú xíng róng quán lì yǐ fù

This idiom is mainly used to describe the enemy or one party deploying all their troops, and it can also be used to describe going all out.

Examples

• 面对强敌，他们决定倾巢而出，决一死战。

  miàn duì qiáng dí, tāmen juédìng qīng cháo ér chū, jué yī sǐ zhàn

  Faced with a strong enemy, they decided to go all out and fight to the death.

• 公司倾巢而出，参加了这次重要的行业会议。

  gōngsī qīng cháo ér chū, cānjiā le zhè cì zhòngyào de hángyè huìyì

  The entire company participated in this important industry conference.

Related Idioms

• 全力以赴

• 总动员

Opposite Idioms

• 按兵不动

• 静观其变