有志者事竟成

出自《后汉书·耿合传》，帝(刘秀)谓合曰：“将军前在南阳，建此大策。常以为落落难合， 有。久者事竟成也。”

意思是，“久”终于。只要有坚定的意志和决心，事情，最终能成功。 也作“有志者事竟成。”

有一次，刘秀派耿合去攻打占据山东青州十二郡的豪强张 步。张班兵强马壮，是耿合的一个劲敌。张步听说耿合率兵来攻。就 派大将军费邑等分兵把守历下、祝阿、临淄，准备迎击。耿合先攻下 祝阿，以后用计相继攻下历下和临淄。张步着急起来，亲自带兵反攻 临淄，于是在临淄城外进行了一场生死搏斗的大血战。在战斗中，耿 合大腿中了一箭，可是他勇敢地用佩刀砍断箭杆，带伤仍坚持战斗。

刘秀闻讯。亲自带兵前来支援。在援兵还未到达的时候，部将陈俊认 为张步兵力强大，建议暂时休战，等到援兵来后再发动进攻。可是耿 合却认为不能把困难留给别人，经过一场激烈的战斗，耿合终于把 张步打得大败。几天后，刘秀来到临淄，慰劳军队。他在许多将官面 前夸奖耿合说： “过去韩信破历下开创基业，现在将军攻克祝阿，连战连捷，两 功相仿，从前你在南阳曾建议请求平定张步，我当时以为你口气太 大，恐怕难以成功，如今才知道，有志者事竟成啊!”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Today’s idiom reads “You Zhi Zhe Shi Jing Cheng”, or, in a shorter version, “You Zhi Jing Cheng”. Literally, it means “the man who has a firm resolve will surely succeed”. Sounds similar to the English saying “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” here’s the story behind the idiom.

In ancient China, there was a man called Geng Yan. Because of his great interest in military affairs, he joined the army after he had been a scholar for many years. In 28 AD, Geng Yan was ordered to fight against an army led by Zhang Bu. Zhang Bu was very confident of victory, because he had more soldiers than Geng Yan. So he gave little thought to what Geng Yan might do.

At the beginning of the battle, Zhang Bu sent his troops to fight Geng Yan’s in several places at the same time. To Zhang’s great surprise, his army was defeated. But this failure didn’t prompt Zhang Bu to pay more attention to Geng Yan’s strategy, especially when he found that his opponent’s troops were not only far fewer than his, but also very tired. So Zhang Bu decided to send 20-thousand more soldiers into the fight.

Facing such a powerful enemy, Geng Yan’s advisors all hesitated. They suggested Geng Yan wait for the relief troops led by the king. But Geng Yan refused to do so. He said, “Our king is coming. We should treat him to a magnificent banquet, not an enemy that hasn’t been completely conquered.” Inspired by the strong determination of Geng Yan, his troops fought again, and won the final battle. Later, when the king arrived, in front of all his officials, he praised Geng Yan as a good example of “You Zhi Zhe Shi Jing Cheng”- a man who has firm resolve will surely succeed.

After the battle, Geng Yan became a very important official, and he contributed a lot to helping his king stay firmly in power. His determination and success inspired the idiom “You Zhi Zhe Shi Jing Cheng,” or “You Zhi Jing Cheng.” It’s just the thing to say to yourself when you are facing an uphill struggle.

(Source:english.cri.cn)