But I don't know when the word "blood is thicker than water" began to be widely used in China, and it was extended to "kinship", which is quite different from the original meaning of this word. Isn't that a bit odd?
the word "blood is thicker than water", literally translated from "The blood is thicker than water", is a name named "Josiah Tatnall" (Yue Se Tate? A famous saying from the American generals. Later, our Concise English-Chinese Dictionary (Commercial Press) said it was a western proverb. We don't study English either. Whether it became a proverb earlier or later, we don't know.
On June 18th, 1859, the British invaders arrived in Dagukou, Tianjin, intending to invade Beijing and Tianjin along the coastal river, forcing the Qing government to pass the Tianjin Treaty. They met with the stubborn resistance of the Qing army fortified by Dagukou Fort. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in full swing at that time and the Qing Dynasty was in a state of erosion and chaos, the Qing army in Dagukou played well. They blocked the entrance of Haihe River with sunken ships, and deliberately showed weakness and did not fire. When the British fleet grandly approached, they suddenly fired and killed several British boats. After falling into chaos, the British army regrouped and attacked Dagukou Fort again. When the British saw that the naval guns could not win, they ordered the British soldiers to land on the beach, trying to attack by land and take the Dagukou Fort. As a result, many British soldiers died on the beach. At this time, in the nearby sea, there is still an American fleet moored. Although the American government, together with Britain, France and Russia, diplomatically forced the Qing court to ratify the Tianjin Treaty, it did not declare war on the Qing dynasty at that time and remained in a neutral position. At that time, the commander of the American fleet, named "Josiah Tatnall", saw that the white British had failed to attack and were being slaughtered on the beach by the yellow China. He couldn't help it any longer. Regardless of his government's position, he ordered the fleet to open fire on the Qing army at Dagukou Fort, and declared war. And ordered American soldiers to go ashore to help the British. So what is his order to his subordinates? The original text of this order is: "The Blood Is Thicker Than Water”---" Blood is thicker than water ". Josiah Tatnall's logic is simple-because he wants to help cousin (cousin) the British to fight the sick man of East Asia, it doesn't matter if he doesn't declare war. Anyway, it won in the end, and "The Blood Is Thicker Than Water" has since become a "much-told story", a famous western proverb. As for the commander of the American fleet, although he violated the position of the American government, he was not punished because it won the interests of the United States.