雙語解字: Chinese Characters 02-east（東）

​“Analysis of Chinese Characters by bilingual”，is opened for the convenience of Chinese and foreign friends who are interested in Chinese characters. We’ll push a Chinese character every Monday，analyze its originand related culture. If there is any impropriety，welcome to correct us.

為方便對漢字感興趣的中國朋友和外國朋友，我們新開設了《雙語解字》欄目。每周一推送一個漢字的來歷和相關文化，如果其中有不恰當的地方，歡迎中外朋友指正。

East（東）

The east is the direction where the sun rise every day. The ancients observed the sun(日)through the trees(木).So sun(日)behind tree(木)became east(東).

“東”的繁體字寫作“東”，古代的人認為太陽是從樹上升起來的，所以“東”是“日”在“木”字中間。

This is the graduation season，graduates are about to face a new life. So we’ll share an idiom related to“east”——All that is needed is an east wind.

眼下是畢業季，畢業生們都即將面臨新生活，我們就跟大家分享一句和“東”有關的成語：萬事俱備，只欠東風。

All That Is Needed Is An East Wind

This allusion istaken from The romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In the winter of 208 Cao Cao(曹操) led a large army on a southern campaign.The allied armies of Sun Quan(孫權)and Liu Bei(劉備) were massed on the south bank of the Yangtze River. They planned to attack the warships of Cao Cao with blazing barges. When all the preparations for the attack were completed, they called to mind that the wind in winter always blew from the northwest, and so would blow the fire barges back toward their own ships. So an east wind was needed for the attack. Zhuge Liang(諸葛亮),the chief advisor of Liu Bei, said that he could summon an east wind, and he did so by his ability to divine the unknown. The result was that Cao Cao’s ships were burnt to ashes.

Later,“Everything is ready, and all that is needed is an east wind” came to be used to describe a situation in which all is ready except what is crucial for the fulfilment of an undertaking.

[本段英文翻譯：周苓仲]

萬事俱備，只欠東風

這個典故出自《三國演義》。

公元208年，曹操收編了劉表部眾，率領80萬大軍向長江推進，駐紮在長江中游的赤壁，企圖打敗劉備以後，再攻打孫權。劉備的軍師諸葛亮說服了孫權聯合抗曹，他們打算用火攻。可是等一切都準備好后，周瑜卻發現曹操的船隻都停在大江的西北，而自己的船隻靠在南岸。這時正是冬季，只有西北風，如果用火攻，不但燒不著曹操，反而會燒到自己的頭上，只有刮東南風才能對曹軍發起火攻。周瑜憂急成病，卧床不起。諸葛亮心中有數，寫給周瑜四句話：“欲破曹公，宜用火攻，萬事俱備，只欠東風。”諸葛亮有豐富的天文氣象知識，他預測到近期一定會刮幾天東南風，後來果然如同諸葛亮預測的那樣，真的颳起了東南風，曹軍的船陣很快地都燒了起來，一眨眼工夫，已經燒成一片火海，損失慘重。這次戰役之後（赤壁之戰），三國鼎立的局面基本形成。

成語“萬事俱備，只欠東風”，比喻一切準備工作都做好了，就差最後一個重要條件。