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醉卧沙场君莫笑

醉臥沙場君莫笑
Zuì wò shāchǎng jūn mò xiào
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 if I lie drunk on the battlefield, sir, do not laugh
  2. 2 (fig.) the grim bravado of a frontier soldier facing probable death
  3. 3 (lit.) drunk-lie sand-field you don't laugh

Examples

HSK 7-9
葡萄美酒夜光杯，欲饮琵琶马上催。醉卧沙场君莫笑，古来征战几人回。
Pútáo měijiǔ yèguāngbēi, yùyǐnpípámǎshàngcuī. Zuìwòshāchǎngjūnmòxiào, gǔláizhēngzhànjǐrénhuí.
'Grape wine in a glowing jade cup; I raise it - the pipa urges from horseback. If I lie drunk on the sands, sir, do not laugh - from ancient times, of those who went to war, how many returned?'
HSK 7-9
出发前他大碗饮酒，笑说醉卧沙场君莫笑。
Chūfā qián tā dà wǎn yǐnjiǔ, xiào shuō zuìwòshāchǎngjūnmòxiào.
Before leaving, he drank deep from a big bowl, laughing, 'if I lie drunk on the battlefield, don't laugh.'

Tips

history
From 王翰's 《凉州词》 (Wang Han, Tang, ~8th c.), one of the most famous frontier poems: 葡萄美酒夜光杯，欲饮琵琶马上催。醉卧沙场君莫笑，古来征战几人回 (Grape wine in the night-glow jade cup; as I lift to drink, the pipa urges from horseback. If I lie drunk on the sands, sir, do not laugh, from old, of those sent to war, how many return?). 凉州 = a Tang military region in the Hexi Corridor (modern Wuwei, Gansu).
usage
Always paired with 古来征战几人回 - the rhetorical question is what pulls the bravado into tragedy. 莫 = 'do not' (classical imperative). 君 = polite 'sir / you.' 沙场 = lit. 'sand field,' i.e. battlefield.

Stroke Order

醉 zuì
卧 wò
沙 shā
场 chǎng
君 jūn
莫 mò
笑 xiào