卧榻之侧 wò tà zhī cè beside one's bed

Explanation

榻：床；侧：旁边。在自己睡觉的床铺旁边。比喻自己的管辖范围之内。

Tá: bed; Cè: beside. Beside one's own bed. A metaphor for one's own jurisdiction.

Origin Story

话说三国时期，魏蜀吴三国鼎立，各自为政。一日，蜀国丞相诸葛亮正在处理政务，忽听探子来报，说魏国大将司马懿率兵十万，正浩浩荡荡地向蜀国边境进发。诸葛亮听后，不慌不忙地放下手中的笔，微微一笑说：“司马懿想来犯我蜀中，真是痴心妄想！他难道不知，我蜀地山高水险，易守难攻？更重要的是，他竟然胆敢在我卧榻之侧，安营扎寨，这简直是自寻死路！”诸葛亮立即下令，全军戒备，严防死守，并派人秘密前往魏国，散布谣言，使魏军内部出现矛盾，最终迫使司马懿撤军。从此以后，“卧榻之侧，岂容他人安睡”这句成语流传开来，用来比喻自己的势力范围之内，不容许他人侵犯。

shuō huà sān guó shí qī, wèi shǔ wú sān guó dǐng lì, gè zì wèi zhèng. yī rì, shǔ guó chéng xiàng zhū gě liàng zhèng zài chǔ lǐ zhèng wù, hū tīng tàn zǐ lái bào, shuō wèi guó dà jiàng sī mǎ yì shuài bīng shí wàn, zhèng hào hào dàng dàng de xiàng shǔ guó biān jìng jìn fā. zhū gě liàng tīng hòu, bù huāng bù máng de fàng xià shǒu zhōng de bǐ, wēi wēi yī xiào shuō：“sī mǎ yì xiǎng lái fàn wǒ shǔ zhōng, zhēn shì chī xīn màng xiǎng! tā nán dào bù zhī, wǒ shǔ dì shān gāo shuǐ xiǎn, yì shǒu nán gōng? gèng zhòng yào de shì, tā jìng rán dǎn gǎn zài wǒ wò tà zhī cè, ān yíng zhā zhài, zhè jiǎn zhí shì zì xún sǐ lù!” zhū gě liàng lì jí xià lìng, quán jūn jiè bèi, yán fáng sǐ shǒu, bìng pài rén mìmì qián wǎng wèi guó, sàn bù yáo yán, shǐ wèi jūn nèi bù chū xiàn máo dùn, zuì zhōng pò shǐ sī mǎ yì chè jūn. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu，“wò tà zhī cè, qǐ róng tā rén ān shuì” zhè jù chéng yǔ liú chuán kāi lái, yòng lái bǐ yù zì jǐ de shì lì fàn wéi zhī nèi, bù róng xǔ tā rén qīn fàn.

During the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China, Wei, Shu, and Wu were three rival kingdoms, each ruling its territory. One day, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, was handling affairs when a scout reported that Sima Yi, a general of Wei, was leading a large army towards Shu's border. Zhuge Liang calmly put down his brush, smiled slightly, and said, "Sima Yi dares to invade Shu; what a foolish dream! Does he not know that Shu's terrain is mountainous and difficult to conquer? More importantly, he dares to set up camp so close to my territory, what a reckless move!" Zhuge Liang immediately ordered the army to prepare for battle and sent people secretly to Wei to spread rumors, causing internal conflict within the Wei army and ultimately forcing Sima Yi to retreat. Hence, the idiom '卧榻之侧，岂容他人安睡' (wò tà zhī cè, qǐ róng tā rén ān shuì), meaning 'how can one allow others to sleep beside one's bed?', came into being and is used to describe the intolerance of threats within one's sphere of influence.

Usage

多用于政治或军事领域，表示不容许他人侵犯自己的势力范围。

duō yòng yú zhèng zhì huò jūnshì lǐngyù, biǎoshì bù róng xǔ tā rén qīn fàn zì jǐ de shì lì fàn wéi

Mostly used in the political or military field, it means that one doesn't allow others to invade one's sphere of influence.

Examples

• 卧榻之侧，岂容他人鼾睡？

  wò tà zhī cè, qǐ róng tā rén hān shuì

  How can we tolerate such a situation in our sphere of influence?

• 我们绝不能允许在我们的势力范围之内出现这样的情况。

  wǒmen jué bù néng yǔn xǔ zài wǒmen de shì lì fàn wéi zhī nèi chū xiàn zhè yàng de qíng kuàng

  We can't allow such things to happen so close to us

Related Idioms

• 近在咫尺

• 唇齿相依

Opposite Idioms

• 袖手旁观

• 置之不理