去留肝胆两昆仑

去留肝膽兩崑崙

qùliúgāndǎnliǎngKūnlún

phrase

Meanings

1 whether going or staying, both are mountains of loyal courage
2 both the one who flees and the one who stays behind stand tall as Kunlun — Tan Sitong's farewell line

Characters

to stay (for martyrdom)

gallbladder (→ courage)

Examples

他引用去留肝胆两昆仑，赞美两位老友不同的选择。

Tā yǐnyòng qù liú gāndǎn liǎng Kūnlún, zànměi liǎng wèi lǎo yǒu bù tóng de xuǎnzé.

He quoted 'going or staying, both mountains of courage' to honor his two old friends' different choices.

革命年代，流亡与就义，去留肝胆两昆仑。

Gémìng niándài, liúwáng yǔ jiùyì, qù liú gāndǎn liǎng Kūnlún.

In revolutionary times, whether fleeing into exile or facing death — both were mountains of courage.

Tips

history

From 谭嗣同 Tan Sitong 《狱中题壁》 — written on the prison wall before his execution in 1898 for the Hundred Days' Reform: 我自横刀向天笑，去留肝胆两昆仑 — 'I'll laugh to heaven with sword in hand; going or staying, both are Kunlun-sized courage.' 'Going' = Liang Qichao fleeing to Japan; 'staying' = Tan himself choosing to die.

usage

肝胆 literally 'liver and gallbladder' = courage, loyalty. 昆仑 is the mythical western mountain range, a symbol of monumental scale. Almost always quoted with 我自横刀向天笑.

Stroke Order

去 qù

留 liú

肝 gān

胆 dǎn

两 liǎng

昆 kūn

仑 lún