To use a weapon as a pillow and wait for daybreak
To be ready to jump into combat at any time
Positive
前线将士们枕戈待旦，随时准备为保家卫国而战 | Qiánxiàn jiàngshìmen zhěngēdàidàn, suíshí zhǔnbèi wèi bǎojiāwèiguó ér zhàn
Soldiers on the front line are prepared to have to defend their country at any moment
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为了找出动物传播的病毒如何变得对人类更有致命性，研究者枕戈待旦 | Wèi le zhǎochū dòngwù chuánbò de bìngdú rúhé biàn dé duì rénlèi gèng yǒu zhìmìngxìng
To find out how viruses from animals become even more deadly in people, researchers are on the alert
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枕戈以待 (zhěn gē yǐ dài)
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《晋书》(Jìn Shū), a work documenting the history of the Jìn Dynasty (晋, 265 - 420). It was written by Táng Dynasty (唐, 618 - 907) historian 房玄龄 (Fáng Xuán Líng)
During the Jìn Dynasty (晋, 265 - 420), there was a young man named 刘琨 (Liú Kūn) who had lofty aspirations and wanted to serve the state. One day, his good friend 祖逖 (Zǔ Tì) was picked to serve as a government official, and 刘琨 wrote a letter to his friends and family, claiming, "I train frequently and sleep with my head on my weapons, waiting to defend the country. I do not want to fall behind 祖逖!"
Eventually, he came to serve the government as well, and he moved quickly through the ranks. Once, he was in a town that was surrounded by barbarian forces, and he was able to repel them by climbing a tower and playing a reed flute that made the enemy soldiers terribly homesick.