待时而动 dài shí ér dòng Wait for the right time

Explanation

指等待有利的时机再行动。

To wait for the opportune moment before acting.

Origin Story

东汉末年，董卓专权，残暴不仁，天下大乱。时任伊阙都尉的张承，忧国忧民，一心想除掉董卓，拯救黎民百姓。然而，他的弟弟张昭却劝他三思而后行，不可轻举妄动，以免落入董卓的圈套。张昭分析道：董卓势力强大，根基深厚，贸然行动，必将以卵击石，得不偿失。他建议张承暂且隐忍，待时机成熟，再伺机而动，方能事半功倍。张承听从了弟弟的劝告，解甲归田，隐居扬州，暗中积蓄力量，等待时机。数年后，董卓骄奢淫逸，日渐荒唐，朝中大臣也对其不满，正是除掉董卓的好时机。张承抓住机会，联合其他志同道合的英雄豪杰，起兵讨伐董卓，最终将董卓诛杀，为天下除了一大害。

donghan mōnián, dongzhuō zhuānquán, cánbào bùrén, tiānxià dàluàn. shí rèn yī què duwèi de zhāng chéng, yōuguó yōumín, yīxīn xiǎng chú diào dōng zhuō, jiùzhěng límín bǎixìng. rán'ér, tā de dìdì zhāng zhāo què quàn tā sīsī érhòuxíng, bùkě qīngjǔ wàngdòng, yǐmiǎn luò rù dōng zhuō de quántào. zhāng zhāo fēnxī dào: dōng zhuō shìlì qiángdà, gēnjī shēnhòu, màorán xíngdòng, bì jiāng yǐ luǎn jī shí, débù chángshī. tā jiànyì zhāng chéng zànqiě yǐnrěn, dài shíjī chéngshú, zài sìjī ér dòng, fāng néng shìbàn gōngbèi. zhāng chéng tīngcóngle dìdì de quàngào, jiě jiǎ guītián, yǐnjū yángzhōu, ànzhōng jīxù lìliàng, děngdài shíjī. shǔnián hòu, dōng zhuō jiāoshē yínyì, rìjiàn huāng táng, cháozhōng dàchén yě duì qí bù mǎn, zhèngshì chú diào dōng zhuō de hǎo shíjī. zhāng chéng zhuā zhù jīhuì, liánhé qítā zhì tóng hé hé de yīngxióng háojié, qǐbīng tǎofá dōng zhuō, zuìzhōng jiāng dōng zhuō zhūshā, wèi tiānxià chúlè yī dà hài.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo usurped power, ruled cruelly and unjustly, and the country fell into chaos. Zhang Cheng, the then-commander of Yi Que, was worried about the country and the people, and wanted to get rid of Dong Zhuo and save the people. However, his brother Zhang Zhao advised him to think twice before acting and not to act rashly, lest he fall into Dong Zhuo's trap. Zhang Zhao analyzed the situation: Dong Zhuo's power was strong and his foundation was deep, and rash actions would inevitably be like hitting a stone with an egg and result in nothing. He advised Zhang Cheng to temporarily endure, wait for the opportunity to mature, and then seize the opportunity to act, so that he could achieve twice the result with half the effort. Zhang Cheng followed his brother's advice, resigned from his post, and retreated to Yangzhou, secretly accumulating strength and waiting for the opportunity. Years later, Dong Zhuo became arrogant, luxurious, decadent, and increasingly mad, and the court officials were also dissatisfied with him. This was the right time to get rid of Dong Zhuo. Zhang Cheng seized the opportunity, joined forces with other like-minded heroes, raised an army against Dong Zhuo, and finally killed Dong Zhuo, eliminating a great evil from the world.

Usage

用于比喻要等待时机成熟再采取行动。

yongyu biju yao dengdai shiji chengshu zai caiqu xingdong

Used to illustrate that one should wait for the right time before taking action.

Examples

• 他一直在等待时机，准备待时而动。

  ta yizhi zai dengdai shiji, zhunbei daishi er dong.

  He has been waiting for the right time to act.

• 经过多年的努力，他终于找到了合适的时机，决定待时而动，实现自己的梦想。

  jingguo duonian de nuli, ta zhongyu zhaodaole héshì de shiji, jueding daishi er dong, shixian ziji de mengxiang

  After years of effort, he finally found the right time and decided to seize the opportunity to achieve his dreams.

Related Idioms

• 伺机而动

• 相机行事

Opposite Idioms

• 轻举妄动

• 草率行事