望梅止渴
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.
三国时候,曹操带着大军在路上行军。那天天气非常热,路又远,士兵们走了半天,水早就喝完了。大家渴得嘴唇发干,走不动路。
曹操看见士兵们这个样子,心里很着急。他忽然想出了一个办法,骑着马站在高处,大声喊道:“前面不远有一大片梅林,梅子又酸又甜,大家快走几步,就能吃到!”
士兵们一听到“酸梅”,嘴里立刻流出了口水,好像真的尝到了酸味。他们马上来了精神,加快脚步往前走,很快就走到了有水的地方。
从这个故事就有了“望梅止渴”这个成语。它告诉我们,有时候一个希望、一个好念头,就能让人鼓起勇气,坚持下去。
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.
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