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视死忽如归

視死忽如歸
shì sǐ hū rú guī
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 regards death as casually as going home
  2. 2 face death with perfect equanimity, as a soldier or martyr
  3. 3 view-death suddenly-like return

Examples

HSK 7-9
那些冲上战场的将士，真是视死忽如归。
Nàxiē chōng shàng zhànchǎng de jiàngshì, zhēnshì shì sǐ hū rú guī.
Those soldiers charging onto the battlefield - truly 'regarding death as casually as going home.'
HSK 7-9
英雄烈士视死忽如归的气概，值得永远铭记。
Yīngxióng lièshì shì sǐ hū rú guī de qìgài, zhídé yǒngyuǎn míngjì.
The heroes' and martyrs' bearing - 'taking death as a going-home' - deserves eternal remembrance.

Tips

history
From 曹植 白马篇 (Cao Zhi, White Horse Ballad, early 3rd c., Three Kingdoms). Describing an idealized young frontier horseman: 捐躯赴国难，视死忽如归 (He flings away his body to answer the state's calamity, regarding death as casually as going home). Cao Zhi (the brilliant younger son of 曹操) wrote this yuefu poem to project the warrior ideal; the final couplet has been quoted in Chinese military eulogy ever since, including on modern PLA martyrs' memorials.
usage
忽 here means 'lightly, casually' (as in 忽视 'take lightly'), not 'suddenly' - the soldier treats death with the nonchalance of coming home, not as a shock. Always paired with 捐躯赴国难.

Stroke Order

视 shì
死 sǐ
忽 hū
如 rú
归 guī