一鼓作气 (yì gǔ zuò qì)
Get something done in one go
During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), the State of Qi launched a war against the State of Lu. Qi had a stronger army than Lu. The king of Lu and his general Cao Gui led the army to meet Qi’s invading troops head-on. The two sides confronted with each other at Changshao.
The King of Lu was about to order his troops to take the offensive when Cao Gui stopped him.
“Not yet,” Cao Gui said. They stepped onto a high stage to observe Qi’s battle formation.
At this time, Qi’s troops charged head-on accompanied by vigorous drum beats.
The King of Lu wanted to rebut the charge but Cao Gui stopped him again.
After the while, the Qi army’s war drums sounded another charge. Again, Cao Gui stopped the King of Lu’s advance.
The Qi soldiers’ morale dwindled after two vain advance attempts. They regrouped for a third attack. The King of Lu took Cao Gui’s advice not to throw his troops into the battle and waited for an opportune moment.
After three charges without any battle, the morale of the Qi soldiers had greatly declined. They were also tired and sat down to rest.
“Now, the time has come!” Cao Gui said to his king who then gave the order. Now, Lu army’s war drums rolled thunderously and the soldiers valiantly charged the enemy. The Qi soldiers fled helter-skelter and the weaker Lu army eventually won the battle.
Originally, 一鼓作气 (yì gǔ zuò qì) means “The fighting spirit aroused by the first roll of drums is the highest”. Later people use it to say “ to press on to the finish without letup” or “ to have something done in a determined burst of energy”.