去留肝胆两昆仑

去留肝膽兩崑崙

qù liú gāndǎn liǎng Kūnlún

quotation

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

HSK 7-9

他引用去留肝胆两昆仑，赞美两位老友不同的选择。

Tā yǐnyòng qùliúgāndǎnliǎngkūnlún, zànměi liǎng wèi lǎoyǒu bùtóng de xuǎnzé.

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

HSK 7-9

革命年代，流亡与就义，去留肝胆两昆仑。

Gémìng niándài, liúwáng yǔ jiù yì, qùliúgāndǎnliǎngkūnlún.

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