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死亦为鬼雄

死亦為鬼雄
sǐyìwéiguǐxióng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 even in death, still a hero among ghosts
  2. 2 (fig.) heroic even beyond death — uncompromising defiance to the last
  3. 3 (lit.) die — also — be — ghost — hero

Examples

战士们以死亦为鬼雄的气概冲向敌阵。
Zhànshìmen yǐ sǐ yì wéi guǐ xióng de qìgài chōng xiàng dízhèn.
The soldiers charged the enemy lines with the spirit of 'even in death, a hero among ghosts.'
她写文章赞颂英烈，引用生当作人杰，死亦为鬼雄。
Tā xiě wénzhāng zànsòng yīngliè, yǐnyòng shēng dāng zuò rén jié, sǐ yì wéi guǐ xióng.
In her article honoring the martyrs she quoted: 'in life, let one be a hero among men; in death, a hero among ghosts.'

Tips

history
From 李清照《夏日绝句》 (Li Qingzhao, Southern Song, c. 1130), a 20-character quatrain written after the Jurchen conquest of the north: 生当作人杰，死亦为鬼雄。至今思项羽，不肯过江东 (In life, be a hero among men; in death, be a hero among ghosts. To this day I think of Xiang Yu — who refused to cross east of the Jiang). Li Qingzhao used Xiang Yu, who chose suicide over retreat, to shame Southern Song officials who fled south. Remarkable for a female poet of the 'delicate ci' school to write such a martial verse.
usage
Always quoted paired with 生当作人杰. 亦 = classical 'also / even.' 鬼雄 = literally 'ghost hero' — the strongest spirit among the dead, a Warring States / Han-era concept (e.g. 屈原《国殇》: 身既死兮神以灵，子魂魄兮为鬼雄).

Stroke Order

死 sǐ
亦 yì
为 wèi
鬼 guǐ
雄 xióng