揭竿而起 jiē gān ér qǐ rise up in rebellion

Explanation

比喻人民群众奋起反抗暴政。

A metaphor for the people's uprising against tyranny.

Origin Story

公元前209年，秦朝末年，陈胜吴广率领九百名戍卒押送前往渔阳，途中遭遇暴雨，误了期限，按秦律当斩。走投无路之下，他们揭竿而起，发动了震惊全国的大泽乡起义，喊出了“王侯将相宁有种乎”的口号，最终推翻了秦朝的暴政。大泽乡起义是中国历史上第一次大规模农民起义，具有划时代的意义。起义的成功，不仅给予了被压迫人民以希望，也为后来的楚汉相争奠定了基础。此后，无数次农民起义，都将“揭竿而起”作为反抗暴政的旗帜，延续着反抗压迫的意志。

gōngyuán qián èr líng jiǔ nián, qín cháo mò nián, chén shèng wú guǎng shuài lǐng jiǔ bǎi míng shù zú yā sòng qián wǎng yú yáng, tú zhōng zāo yù bàoyǔ, wù le qīxiàn, àn qín lǜ dāng zhǎn. zǒu tóu wú lù zhī xià, tāmen jiē gān ér qǐ, fādòng le zhèn jīng quán guó de dàzé xiāng qǐyì, hǎn chū le “wáng hóu jiàng xiàng níng yǒu zhǒng hū” de kǒuhào, zuì zhōng tuī fān le qín cháo de bàozhèng. dàzé xiāng qǐyì shì zhōngguó lìshǐ shàng dì yī cì dà guīmó nóngmín qǐyì, jù yǒu huà shídài de yìyì. qǐyì de chénggōng, bù jǐn jǐ yǔ le bèi yāpèi rénmín yǐ xīwàng, yě wèi hòulái de chǔ hàn xiāng zhēng diàn dìng le jīchǔ. cǐ hòu, wúshù cì nóngmín qǐyì, dōu jiāng “jiē gān ér qǐ” zuòwéi fǎnkàng bàozhèng de qízhì, yánxù zhe fǎnkàng yāpèi de yìzhì.

In 209 BC, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang led 900 conscripted soldiers to Yuanyang. On the way, they encountered a rainstorm, delaying their arrival. According to Qin law, they should all be executed. Desperate, they rose up and launched the Dazhexiang Uprising, which shocked the entire country. They shouted the slogan "Can Wang Hou, generals, and ministers really have their own kind?", and eventually overthrew the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. The Dazhexiang Uprising was the first large-scale peasant uprising in Chinese history and had epoch-making significance. The success of the uprising not only gave hope to the oppressed people but also laid the foundation for the subsequent Chu-Han contention. In countless peasant uprisings thereafter, "raising the poles" was used as a banner of resistance against tyranny, continuing the will to resist oppression.

Usage

形容人民群众奋起反抗暴政。

xíngróng rénmín qúnzhòng fèn qǐ fǎnkàng bàozhèng.

Describes the people's uprising against tyranny.

Examples

• 面对强敌，他毫不畏惧，揭竿而起，领导人民反抗暴政。

  miàn duì qiáng dí, tā háo bù wèi jù, jiē gān ér qǐ, lǐng dǎo rén mín fǎn kháng bàozhèng.

  Faced with a strong enemy, he was not afraid and rose up to lead the people in resisting tyranny.

• 消息传来，各路义军揭竿而起，响应号召，共同抗击侵略者。

  xiāoxī chuán lái, gè lù yìjūn jiē gān ér qǐ, xiǎng yìng hàozhào, gòngtóng kàng jī qīnluè zhě.

  News came, and various rebel armies rose up to respond to the call and fight against the invaders together.

Related Idioms

• 起义

• 造反

Opposite Idioms

• 忍气吞声

• 逆来顺受