鸣金收兵 míng jīn shōu bīng Sounding the golden gong and withdrawing troops

Explanation

鸣金收兵，指古代军队作战时，用敲打金属器物发出信号来停止战斗，命令军队撤退。现在比喻事情告一段落，或者战斗暂时结束。

'Sounding the golden gong and withdrawing troops' refers to ancient armies using the striking of metal objects to signal the end of a battle and order a retreat. Today, it is used metaphorically to mean that something has come to an end, or a battle has temporarily concluded.

Origin Story

话说东汉末年，群雄逐鹿，战火纷飞。一日，曹操率领大军攻打袁绍，双方在官渡展开激战。曹操军势如破竹，袁绍军节节败退。眼看袁绍就要全军覆没，但曹操却突然下令鸣金收兵，让士兵们撤退休整。此举让袁绍军大惑不解，而曹操则暗中调兵遣将，准备下一轮更猛烈的进攻。最终，曹操取得了官渡之战的胜利，奠定了统一北方的基础。鸣金收兵，有时候并非真正的放弃战斗，而是一种战略性的撤退，为的是积蓄力量，争取更大的胜利。

huì shuō dōng hàn mò nián, qún xióng zhúlù, zhànhuǒ fēnfēi. yī rì, cáo cāo shuài lǐng dà jūn gōng dǎ yuán shào, shuāngfāng zài guāndù zhǎnkāi jīzhàn. cáo cāo jūn shì rú pō zhú, yuán shào jūn jié jié bài tuì. yǎn kàn yuán shào jiù yào quánjūn fùmó, dàn cáo cāo què tūrán xià lìng míng jīn shōu bīng, ràng bīngshì men chètuì xiūzhěng. cǐ jǔ ràng yuán shào jūn dà huò bù jiě, ér cáo cāo zé àn zhōng diào bīng qiǎnjiàng, zhǔnbèi xià yī lún gèng měng liè de jìngōng. zuìzhōng, cáo cāo qǔdé le guāndù zhī zhàn de shènglì, diàn dìng le tǒngyī běifāng de jīchǔ. míng jīn shōu bīng, yǒushí bùfēi zhēnzhèng de fàngqì zhàn dòu, ér shì yī zhǒng zhànlüè xìng de chètuì, wèi de shì jīchǔ lìliàng, zhēngqǔ gèng dà de shènglì

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when warlords were vying for supremacy, flames of war were raging everywhere. One day, Cao Cao led his large army to attack Yuan Shao, and both sides fought a fierce battle at Guandu. Cao Cao's army advanced like bamboo shoots, while Yuan Shao's army retreated step by step. It seemed that Yuan Shao's army was about to be completely defeated, but Cao Cao suddenly ordered the troops to retreat. This puzzled Yuan Shao's army, but Cao Cao secretly reorganized his troops and prepared for another even more intense attack. In the end, Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu and laid the foundation for the unification of the north. Sounding the golden gong and withdrawing troops did not always mean abandoning the battle, but a strategic retreat to build up strength and win a greater victory.

Usage

鸣金收兵通常用作谓语，有时也作定语；比喻战斗结束或事情告一段落。

míng jīn shōu bīng tōngcháng yòng zuò wèiyǔ, yǒushí yě zuò dìngyǔ; bǐyù zhàn dòu jiéshù huò shìqing gào yī duànluò

'Sounding the golden gong and withdrawing troops' is typically used as a predicate, sometimes also as an attributive; it is a metaphor for the end of a battle or a matter.

Examples

• 双方激战正酣，突然对方鸣金收兵，我军将士都有些摸不着头脑。

  shuāngfāng jīzhàn zhènghān, tūrán duìfāng míng jīn shōu bīng, wǒ jūn jiàngshì dōu yǒuxiē mō bù zháo tóunǎo.

  Both sides were fighting fiercely, when suddenly the other side sounded the golden gong to retreat, our soldiers were a little confused.

• 经过一天的激战，双方都精疲力尽，最终鸣金收兵，各自休整。

  jīngguò yītiān de jīzhàn, shuāngfāng dōu jīngpí qǐnjìn, zuìzhōng míng jīn shōu bīng, gèzì xiūzhěng

  After a day's fierce battle, both sides were exhausted, and finally sounded the golden gong to retreat, each taking a rest.

Related Idioms

• 收兵回营

• 班师回朝

Opposite Idioms

• 穷追猛打

• 死战不退