望梅止渴

Wàng Méi Zhǐ Kě

望着梅子解渴。比喻用空想或好的希望来安慰自己,让人暂时坚持下去。

Quenching thirst by thinking of plums — using a hopeful thought to help us keep going when the real thing is still far away.

sānguóshíhòucáocāodàizhejūnzàishàngxíngjūntiāntiānfēichángyòuyuǎnshìbīngmenzǒulebàntiānshuǐzǎojiùwánlejiādezuǐchúngànzǒudòng

cáocāokànjiànshìbīngmenzhèyàngzixīnhěnzháoránxiǎngchūlebànzhezhànzàigāochùshēnghǎndào:“qiánmiànyuǎnyǒupiànméilínméiziyòusuānyòutiánjiākuàizǒujiùnéngchīdào!”

shìbīngmentīngdàosuānméi”,zuǐliúchūlekǒushuǐhǎoxiàngzhēndechángdàolesuānwèimenshàngláilejīngshénjiākuàijiǎowǎngqiánzǒuhěnkuàijiùzǒudàoleyǒushuǐdefang

cóngzhèshìjiùyǒulewàngméizhǐzhèchénggàomenyǒushíhòuwànghǎoniàntóujiùnéngràngrényǒngjiānchíxià

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was marching with a great army on a long road. The day was blazing hot, the water had run out, and the soldiers' lips were cracked with thirst. Many could barely walk another step.

Cao Cao saw their state and grew worried. Then an idea struck him. He rode up onto a rise and called out, “Just a little farther ahead is a great grove of plums — sweet and sour! Keep going, and soon you'll be eating your fill!”

At the words “sour plums,” the soldiers' mouths watered as if they could already taste them. New energy rushed through the ranks, their pace quickened, and soon they reached a place with real water.

From this comes “gazing at plums to quench thirst.” It reminds us that a hopeful thought, even an imagined one, can give us the courage to push on.