闻鸡起舞
Rising to Sword-Drill at the Cock's Crow
Level 5 · Idiom Stories · 成语故事 · 45 vocabulary words
Source: 《晋书·祖逖传》 · Book of Jin, Biography of Zu Ti
祖逖和刘琨是好朋友,都有大志气。
Zu Ti and Liu Kun were friends with great ambitions.
他们睡在一起,半夜鸡叫,祖逖把刘琨踢醒说:鸡叫了,起来练剑吧。
Sharing a bed, Zu Ti kicked Liu Kun awake at the midnight crow: the cock crows, up to drill.
两个人每天鸡一叫就起来练武。
Every cockcrow found them up with swords in hand.
后来他们都成了东晋的名将。有志气的人,把鸡叫当成闹钟。
Both became famous generals of Eastern Jin. Ambitious men treat the cock's crow as an alarm.