waver in determination(shǒu shǔ liǎng duān)

waver in determination

In Chinese, the Pinyin is sh ǒ ush ǔ Li ǎ ngdu ā n, which means indecision and vacillation. It comes from the biography of marquis Wu'an of Wei Qi in historical records.

Idioms and allusions

Guanfu was born in Yingyin (now Xuchang City, Henan Province) in the early Han Dynasty. His father, Guan Meng, originally surnamed Zhang, was a guest of Guan Ying's family in yingyinhou, and later changed his surname to Guan. During the reign of emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, he crusaded against the rebellion of the seven states of Wu and Chu. In this war, Guan Meng was killed, and Guan Fu was seriously injured because he went deep into the enemy. The name of Guanfu spread all over the world at that time, and general Dou Ying appreciated him very much. Dou Ying is the cousin of Empress Dowager Dou, the mother of emperor Jing of Han Dynasty. In the war of pacifying the rebellion of the seven kingdoms, he was granted the title of Marquis of Wei Qi, but emperor Jing did not trust him (see "complacency"). Soon after Emperor Wu took over the throne, Empress Dowager Dou died, and the power of the Dou family declined even more. At this time, Tian was the most powerful of the imperial relatives. Tian He is the brother of emperor Hanjing and his wife, and also the uncle of Emperor Wudi. Compared with Dou Ying, Tian Zhen is a younger generation and much younger. However, because of this special relationship, he became prime minister. He didn't pay attention to Dou Ying and other civil and military ministers, even Emperor Wu. Those who follow the trend are all attached to Tian. In contrast, Dou Ying's door is much colder. At this time, Guanfu served as several local officials. He was removed from his post and lived in Chang'an. He complained with Dou Ying, so he was congenial and friendly. When he continued to marry, all the nobles and Manchu ministers went to celebrate the wedding. Dou Ying asks Guanfu to go with him for a perfunctory visit. The Guanfu despises Tian Juan and is unwilling to go. Dou Ying persuades him again and again, and then reluctantly goes with him. At the banquet, according to the custom at that time, the guests and the host should take turns toasting. When Guanfu toasted Tian He, Tian He didn't drink. When he toasted Guanxian, Guanxian only paid attention to the same Cheng and didn't know how to talk to each other. Guanfu was full of anger. He had nowhere to vent his anger, so he scolded Guanxian and said, "I usually see that Cheng Buzhi is not worth a small sum of money. I'm an elder. I propose a toast to you. If you don't stand up, you should learn to bite his ear!" (see "worthless")? At that time, Tian Zhen saw Guanfu swearing and immediately ordered his arrest. Some people advised Guanfu to kowtow to Tian Zhen and make amends. He refused and said some harsh words. Tian Zhen put him in prison, and all the guans' relatives were detained, ready to be put to death. Dou Ying blamed himself for not persuading Guanfu to go with him to congratulate him. As a result, he caused a great disaster. He took money and asked people everywhere to clear up. He wrote to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and complained: "Guanfu offended the prime minister when he was drunk. He didn't commit the crime until he died. He asked for a ruling. Guanfu is a famous brave general. His father was killed in battle in those years. He once entered the Wu army with a single shot. He suffered dozens of injuries and refused to retreat. No one knows that he is a rare warrior in the country. I'm afraid it's too much for the whole family to kill him for a glass of wine. " However, Tian Zhen tried his best to say that Guanfu was tyrannical and lawless. He accumulated a lot of wealth in his hometown Yingchuan, oppressed the good people and excluded the royal family. It was a terrible crime. In his anger, Dou Ying exposed Tian's corruption and other bad deeds, and Tian Heng also falsely accused Dou Ying and recruited heroes. The two royal relatives were quarreling for a while. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was also difficult to make a decision, so he asked the ministers to express their opinions. Han Anguo (Chang Ru), the imperial historian, hesitated and said, "the Duke of Wei Qi is right in saying that Guanfu should not fall into a felony because he has made great contributions and failed to speak after drinking. The prime minister said that Guanfu's misdeeds endanger the country. That's not bad. It is up to your majesty to decide what to do with it! " The other ministers, some of them, were not pained to say a word or two, and most of them did not dare to speak. At that time, they had to break up in a bad mood. Tian Juan left the palace by car. At the gate of the palace, he saw Han Anguo walking in front of him. He told him to get on the car and go with him. He complained to him: "Chang Ru! You should join me in dealing with that bald man. Why are you so stubborn? " "Head and tail" means to take a step further and back, but also to take care of one end and the other. This is a metaphor for indecision, lack of self-determination, timidity and not daring to offend in any way. as for the general interpretation of the word "first mouse", it is "first mouse, one before the other". "Yiya Shichong" says: rats are suspicious, when they go out of the cave, they always wait and see at both ends, and fear their heads and tails, so it is called "head and tail". However, the biography of Deng Xun in the book of the later Han Dynasty is "the first and the end", and the biography of Xiqiang is "the first and the end". In the biography of zhugeke in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, there is another saying that "slow is the first mouse". Some people interpret "head rat" as hesitation. Some people say that "Shoushu" and "Shoushi" are both the sound changes of "hesitation". In fact, "Shoushu" or "Shoushi" both mean "hesitation", that is, they want to look at the head and the tail, hesitating.

Idiom story

In the Western Han Dynasty, the prime minister Tian Juan married the youngest wife (concubine or Polygamy), Dou Ying and Guanfu to celebrate. Tian Juan deliberately neglects Guanfu, who is angry and scolds him. Tian Juan immediately arrests Guanfu and his family, and prepares to kill them. Dou Ying asks Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty to intervene in this matter and try to protect Guanfu. Han Anguo, the imperial historian, thinks that it is OK to kill Guanfu or not. Tian Juan complained about the attitude of Han Anguo.

The origin of Idioms

According to the biography of Wu'an Marquis of Wei Qi in historical records, "Wu'an has gone out of court. When he left the gate, he called for the imperial historian Han Zai. He said angrily," I'm an old bald man with Chang Ru. What's the first mouse? "

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym] forward looking and indecisive [antonym] quick and decisive

Idiom usage

It's formal; it's predicate and attributive; it's derogatory; it's example; it's how to get, it's waiting to die. The twelfth chapter of Chen Chen's the Water Margin

Chinese PinYin : shǒu shǔ liǎng duān