擂鼓鸣金

擂鼓鳴金

léigǔ-míngjīn

idiom

Meanings

1 to beat the drum and sound the gong
2 to order an advance or retreat
3 to rally troops or call them back

Characters

gong (here); metal

Examples

HSK 6

古代打仗，擂鼓鸣金都有讲究。

Gǔdài dǎzhàng, léigǔmíngjīn dōu yǒu jiǎngjiu.

In ancient warfare, drumming for advance and gonging for retreat each followed strict rules.

HSK 6

他擂鼓鸣金，号召大家行动起来。

Tā léigǔmíngjīn, hàozhào dàjiā xíngdòng qǐlái.

He sounded the call to action, rallying everyone to move.

Tips

history

Earliest attested in the Yuan-era zaju play 《午时牌》. In ancient Chinese armies, drums (鼓) signaled advance and the bronze gong (金 = 锣) signaled retreat, so the four characters together capture the whole battlefield communication system.

memory

擂 (beat) 鼓 (drum) 鸣 (sound) 金 (gong/metal): beat-drum, sound-gong. Two parallel verb-object pairs, easy to remember as an action diptych.

Stroke Order

擂 léi

鼓 gǔ

鸣 míng

金 jīn