To sleep on firewood and eat gall bladders
Refers to when one pushes oneself to realize a goal (esp. to become more powerful or wealthy) despite hardship or difficulty
Positive
在后来的两年中，可以说我们是卧薪尝胆地把这个产品做出来了 | Zài hòulái de liǎng nián zhōng, kěyǐ shuō wǒmen shì wòxīnchángdǎn de bǎ zhè ge chǎnpǐn zuò chūlái le
In the past two years, it can be said that we've pushed ourselves very hard to get this product out
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对于上次的失败，我们应卧薪尝胆，努力学习，争取取得好成绩 | Duìyú shàng cì de shībài, wǒmen yīng wòxīnchángdǎn, nǔlì xuéxí, zhēngqǔ qǔdé hǎo chéngjī
We must respond to last time's failure by pushing ourselves to study hard and succeed
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尝胆卧薪 (cháng dǎn wò xīn)
None
《史记》(Shǐ Jì), or the famous work "Records of the Grand Historian" by 司马迁 (Sī Mǎ Qiān).
During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), 夫差 (Fū Chā), the king of the state of Wú (吴国), took advantage of his superior military strength and invaded the neighboring state of Yuè (越国). The Yuè were soundly defeated, and their king, 勾践 (Gōu Jiàn), was captured and brought back to the kingdom of Wú.
In Wú, 夫差 ensured that the enemy king would be humiliated. He forced him to feed his horses, sweep tombs, and perform other tasks that were generally relegated to servants. This enraged the Yuè king, but he didn't show it. Instead, he put on an air of quiet obedience. When the Wú king got sick, he would care for him by his bedside; when he went out, 勾践 would lead his horse for him. 夫差 was moved by his enemy's devotion and loyalty, and in the end, he let him go.
勾践 promptly returned to his homeland, where he swore that he would wash away the humiliation that he had borne as the Wú king's servant. In order to maintain his desire for vengeance, he started sleeping on firewood and taking a bite of gall bladder each time he went to eat or sleep. In addition to this, he also took efforts to improve the strength of his kingdom by ensuring that his military was well-trained and that the common people were content.
Ten years later, the state of Yuè had grown strong and powerful, and 勾践 finally took his revenge by leading his army to invade the kingdom of Wú. He emerged victorious, with 夫差 even committing suicide. From then on, Yuè became one of the strongest states during the later years of the Spring and Autumn Period.