Put down the flag and stop drumming. Originally, it means to march in secret without revealing the target. But now it is used to indicate a truce or a silent cessation of action.
Idiom Pronunciation:
偃旗息鼓
yǎn qí xī gǔ
Origin book:
《三国志·蜀书·赵云传》：云入营，更大开门，偃旗息鼓，公军疑云有伏兵，引去。
Origin Story:
During the Three Kingdoms period in China, Zhao Yun was one of the few wise and brave generals who, by virtue of his great wisdom and courage, made a great contribution to Liu Bei’s Shu Han regime and therefore became a great hero in people’s minds. Zhao Yun was humble and calm in nature, and since he followed Liu Bei, his loyalty was unchanged despite all the difficulties and dangers. In the Shu camp, besides leading the army to break the enemy and performing the duties of a general, Zhao Yun also had an important duty: to be Liu Bei’s personal attendant, responsible for protecting Liu Bei and his family. There is no doubt that this is an extremely difficult job. Zhao Yun did not disappoint Liu Bei: he saved A Dou on a single horse in Danyang Chang Ban; he performed the Zhuge brocade plan to protect his master when Liu Bei was married in Dong Wu, etc.
Once, when Shu and Wei were at war, Shu General Huang Zhong killed Wei General Xiahou Yuan and seized a strategic place. When Cao Cao heard the news, he was very angry, so he moved the rice warehouse to the foot of the northern mountain beside the Han River and personally led 200,000 troops to attack Yangping Pass in a big way. Huang Zhong decided to lead his troops to burn and rob the Wei army’s grain and grass at night. Before his departure, he and Zhao Yun agreed on a time to return, but failed to return after the deadline. Zhao Shi took his troops to meet him, and met with Cao Cao’s army on a narrow road. Zhao Yun fought with Wei’s army and finally beat them to death, successfully rescuing Huang Zhong.
Cao Cao suffered such a great loss, how could he give up? He commanded a large group of men to chase Zhao Yun and went straight to Shu camp. Liu Bei had to lead tens of thousands of people to flee to Jiangling and sent Zhao Yun to break the back. When the two sides met, there was another vicious battle. It didn’t take long for Zhao Yun to shake off the Wei vanguard and pounce on the Wei battle formation, fighting and retreating to buy time and ensure the safety of Liu Bei and tens of thousands of people. Eventually, Zhao Yun killed his way out of the siege and returned to his family camp.
Zhang Fei, who was in the camp, rushed to meet him. Zhang Yi, the deputy general, saw that Zhao Yun had returned to his camp and the pursuers were coming behind him, so he wanted to close the gate to resist. Zhao Yun, however, ordered the camp gate to be opened wide, and was prepared to let Cao’s troops in; on the other hand, he ordered his archers to lie in ambush inside the camp, while he stood alone at the gate waiting for the enemy.
The raging Wei army soon arrived, and for a while, the army was pressing down, and the battle clouds were thick. Zhao Yun’s side, however, the fortress door was wide open, not a battle flag could be seen, not a battle drum could be heard. Cao Cao, who was suspicious by nature, suspected that there were hidden ambushers inside and did not dare to attack easily, so he ordered his troops to retreat. When Zhao Yun saw the retreat of Cao’s troops, he immediately beat the war drums, and in an instant, the sound of killing was so loud that arrows rained down. Zhao Yun then took advantage of the situation to seize the provisions of the Wei army, killed a large number of Cao Cao’s men, and returned to the camp with victory.
The next day, Liu Bei personally came to the camp to treat the soldiers. When he saw the traces left by yesterday’s battle, he said with emotion, “Zilong is full of guts!”
Similar Idioms:
- 鸣金收兵
