a man leaves a name behind him(rén sǐ liú míng)

a man leaves a name behind him

It is a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is R é ns ǐ Li ú m í ng, which means that people have made great achievements in life and can be passed on to later generations after death. It comes from the biography of Wang Yanzhang in the history of the new Five Dynasties.

The origin of Idioms

In Ouyang Xiu's biography of Wang Yanzhang, a new history of the Five Dynasties, it is said that "Yanzhang was a martial man who didn't know how to write. He often used slang to say:" leopard's skin is dead, man's name is dead. "

Idiom usage

It is often used in conjunction with the word "leopard leaves his skin dead". examples we need to make sure that people die and remain famous.

Idiom story

Story 1: during the Five Dynasties, Wang Yanzhang, a famous general of the Liang Dynasty, followed Zhu Wen, Emperor Taizu of the Liang Dynasty, to fight in the north and south. He made many achievements and was highly valued. After Zhu Zhen, emperor of the late Liang Dynasty, succeeded to the throne, the Tang army attacked the state of Liang. Wang Yanzhang was ordered to defend the enemy, but he was captured because he was outnumbered. Zhuang Zong of Tang Dynasty urged Wang Yanzhang to surrender. Wang Yanzhang said: the leopard will die to save his skin, while the others will die to save his reputation. He was soon killed. Story 2 during the Five Dynasties, there was a famous general named Wang Yanzhang. When he was young, he followed Zhu Wen, the founder of the Liang Dynasty, to fight all over the country. After Zhu Wen died, he made great contributions to Zhu Youzhen, the emperor. the later Tang Dynasty, which was against Houliang at that time, was full of fierce men. Li Keyong, Li cunxiao, Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan, Li CunShen and Zhou Dewei were all famous generals of the three armies. Wang Yanzhang, however, dares to look down on them. Li Cunxu, Zhuangzong of the later Tang Dynasty, who is known as "good at riding and shooting and braver than others", is just a "chicken fighting child" in Wang Yanzhang's eyes. At that time, both Jin and Tang were strong enemies of Liang, with frequent wars. Once, the Jin army broke down Daozhou, captured Wang Yanzhang's wife and children, and took them to Taiyuan. In order to induce Wang Yanzhang to surrender, the Jin army didn't kill his relatives, but also built a house for them. They had good food and good treatment. Then, the state of Jin sent envoys to contact Wang Yanzhang secretly to persuade him to surrender. Wang Yanzhang refused to surrender and resolutely killed the envoys of Jin. Emperor Zhu Youzhen was fatuous and incompetent, and the important affairs of the court were controlled by a group of good ministers. These people were jealous of the virtuous and the capable, so that Wang Yanzhang's military talent could not be used, resulting in the loss of land in the state of Liang. Later, when Wang Yanzhang failed to attack the late Tang Dynasty twice in a row, people who had always been disgusted with him took the opportunity to speak ill of Wang Yanzhang to the late emperor. Finally, Wang Yanzhang was dismissed from military power. Less than half a year later, Liang Jiangshan was not protected, so he had to invite Wang Yanzhang out again. Once, Wang Yanzhang was captured alive by Tang soldiers. Later Tang Zhuangzong appreciated him and wanted him to be a general. Wang Yanzhang said, "who can be a general to serve this country in the morning and another country in the evening? So please give me a knife. I don't have any complaints. I just feel very honored. " In the end, although he died, he left a good reputation. before, Wang Yanzhang often said in his mouth that "a leopard's skin is dead, and a person's name is dead." and he did practice and do it. Therefore, it has become an idiom to show that no matter what difficulties and dangers a person encounters, he should be determined to protect his moral integrity and keep his original good name until he dies.

Chinese PinYin : rén sǐ liú míng