铤而走险 Tǐng ér Zǒu Xiǎn to take a desperate gamble

Explanation

铤而走险，这个成语的意思是在没有其他选择的情况下，不得不冒险行动。

The idiom „tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn“ means to take a desperate gamble when there is no other choice.

Origin Story

在战国时期，晋国和郑国之间发生了一场战争。晋国实力强大，而郑国则相对弱小。为了保护自己的国家，郑国大夫子家决定向晋国求和。他写了一封信给晋国的大夫赵盾，信中表达了郑国希望和平的愿望，并愿意与晋国保持友好关系。然而，晋国国君晋灵公却十分怀疑郑国的诚意，他认为郑国只是在表面上示弱，实际上是想趁机偷袭晋国。晋灵公命令他的大臣们做好战斗准备，并派出军队包围了郑国。 面对晋国的强大压力，郑国人非常紧张，他们知道如果开战，郑国必败无疑。但是，他们也不愿意屈服于晋国的淫威，他们决定铤而走险，与晋国决一死战。他们召集了所有能战斗的人，准备誓死保卫自己的家园。 最终，郑国人凭借着顽强的抵抗和英勇的战斗精神，打败了晋国的军队，保住了自己的国家。这场战争也成为了中国历史上著名的以弱胜强的典范。

zài zhàn guó shí qī, jìn guó hé zhèng guó zhī jiān fā shēng le yī chǎng zhàn zhēng. jìn guó shí lì qiáng dà, ér zhèng guó zé xiāng duì ruò xiǎo. wèi le bǎo hù zì jǐ de guó jiā, zhèng guó dài fū zǐ jiā jué dìng xiàng jìn guó qiú hé. tā xiě le yī fēng xìn gěi jìn guó de dài fū zhào dùn, xìn zhōng biǎo dá le zhèng guó xī wàng hé píng de yuàn wàng, bìng yuàn yì yǔ jìn guó bǎo chí yǒu hǎo guān xì. rán ér, jìn guó guó jūn jìn líng gōng què shí fēn huái yí zhèng guó de chéng yì, tā rèn wéi zhèng guó zhǐ shì zài biǎo miàn shàng shì ruò, shí jì shàng shì xiǎng chéng jī tōu xí jìn guó. jìn líng gōng mìng lìng tā de dà chén men zuò hǎo zhàn dòu zhǔn bèi, bìng pài chū jūn duì bāo wéi le zhèng guó. miàn duì jìn guó de qiáng dà yā lì, zhèng guó rén fēi cháng jǐn zhāng, tā men zhī dào rú guǒ kāi zhàn, zhèng guó bì bài wú yí. dàn shì, tā men yě bù yuàn yì qū fú yú jìn guó de yín wēi, tā men jué dìng tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, yǔ jìn guó jué yī sǐ zhàn. tā men zhào jí le suǒ yǒu néng zhàn dòu de rén, zhǔn bèi shì sǐ bǎo wèi zì jǐ de jiā yuán. zuì zhōng, zhèng guó rén píng jiè zhe wán qiáng de dǐ kàng hé yīng yǒng de zhàn dòu jīng shén, dǎ bài le jìn guó de jūn duì, bǎo zhù le zì jǐ de guó jiā. zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng yě chéng wéi le zhōng guó lì shǐ shàng zhù míng de yǐ ruò shèng qiáng de diǎn fàn.

During the Warring States period, a war broke out between the state of Jin and the state of Zheng. Jin was a powerful kingdom, while Zheng was relatively weak. To protect his country, Zheng minister Zi Jia decided to ask for peace with Jin. He wrote a letter to Jin minister Zhao Dun, expressing Zheng's desire for peace and their willingness to maintain friendly relations with Jin. However, Jin ruler Jin Linggong was very suspicious of Zheng's sincerity. He believed that Zheng was just pretending to be weak, but actually wanted to ambush Jin. Jin Linggong ordered his ministers to prepare for battle and sent troops to surround Zheng. Faced with the strong pressure from Jin, the people in Zheng were very nervous. They knew that they would inevitably lose if they went to war. However, they were unwilling to submit to Jin's tyranny. They decided to take a gamble and fight to the death against Jin. They gathered all the people who could fight and prepared to defend their homeland to the death. Finally, the people of Zheng, relying on their tenacious resistance and heroic fighting spirit, defeated Jin's army and saved their country. This war also became a famous example in Chinese history of the weak defeating the strong.

Usage

这个成语可以用来形容那些在没有退路的情况下，不得不采取冒险行动的人。

zhè gè chéng yǔ kě yǐ yòng lái xíng róng nà xiē zài méi yǒu tuì lù de qíng kuàng xià, bù děi bù cǎi qǔ mào xiǎn xíng dòng de rén.

This idiom can be used to describe those who have to take a desperate gamble when there is no other way out.

Examples

• 为了保护国家，他们不得不铤而走险，与强大的敌人作战。

  wèi le bǎo hù guó jiā, tā men bù děi bù tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, yǔ qiáng dà de dí rén zhàn zhàn.

  They had to take a desperate gamble to protect the country and fight against the powerful enemy.

• 为了摆脱困境，他不得不铤而走险，尝试新的投资项目。

  wèi le tuō bǎi kùn jìng, tā bù děi bù tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, shì yàn xīn de tóu zī xiàng mù.

  To get out of trouble, he had to take a gamble and try new investment projects.

• 面临经济危机，公司不得不铤而走险，进行大规模裁员。

  miàn lín jīng jì wēi jī, gōng sī bù děi bù tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, jìn xíng dà guī mó cái yuán.

  Faced with an economic crisis, the company had to take a gamble and make large-scale layoffs.

• 他为了完成任务，不惜铤而走险，冒着生命危险进入危险区域。

  tā wèi le wán chéng rèn wù, bù xī tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, mào zhe shēng mìng wēi xiǎn jìn rù wēi xiǎn qū yù.

  He had to take a gamble and risk his life to enter the dangerous area to complete the task.

• 他为了获得成功，不得不铤而走险，放弃了安全稳定的工作。

  tā wèi le huò dé chéng gōng, bù děi bù tǐng ér zǒu xiǎn, fàng qì le ān quán wěn dìng de gōng zuò.

  He had to take a gamble and give up his safe and stable job to achieve success.

Related Idioms

• 孤注一掷

• 背水一战

Opposite Idioms

• 按部就班

• 循规蹈矩