The old man is always striving for a thousand miles; the martyr is still ambitious in his old age. -—— Cao Cao

The old man is always striving for a thousand miles. The verses in the poem are used by later generations to describe ambitious people who still have great ambitions even though they are old.

老骥volt lǎo jì fú lì

骥: good horse, thousand-mile horse; 骥: A manger is a place where horses are raised. It is a metaphor for an ambitious person who is still ambitious even though he is old.

From the poem "Stepping out of Xiamen" by Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms Wei Dynasty: "The old man is in a stable position, but his ambition is Thousands of miles."

Allusion:

In May of the 12th year of Jian'an, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao with a small number in the Battle of Guandu. Cao Cao was also more ambitious. In July of that year, with the ambition of unifying the north, Cao Cao led his army out of Lulong Village, marched day and night, and marched on the Wuhuan expedition. As soon as the army arrived at Liucheng, they defeated the Wuhuan cavalry and killed them. Shan Yu Tadun. Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled from Liucheng to Gongsun Kang in Pingzhou. After Cao Cao's generals learned about this, they persuaded Cao Cao to take advantage of the victory to attack Pingzhou and annihilate the Yuan brothers. Cao Cao knew it well. Gongsun Kang and Er Yuan were at odds with each other. If they rushed to attack Pingzhou, they would definitely join forces to resist; if they waited for a while, they would definitely kill each other. So they ignored the advice of the generals and ordered the withdrawal of troops. Within a few days, As expected, Gongsun Kang sent the heads of the Yuan brothers. In this way, Cao Cao's great cause of conquering Wuhuan and unifying the north was completed. Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Cao Cao ordered his troops to return to the court. After more than ten days of arduous trek, the army finally walked out After visiting the desolate Liucheng, we arrived in Changli, Hebei Province. It is bordered by Jieshi in the east and Canghai in the west. Cao Cao stood on the top of the mountain and looked out at the sea. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the blue sea was golden; the islands in the distance were looming, and the waves nearby were rolling in. In front of... Seeing such a magnificent scenery, Cao Cao couldn't help but become inspired by poetry, and blurted out: To the east is the Jieshi, so as to view the sea. The water is so sluggish, and the mountains and islands stand tall. There are thick trees and luxuriant grass. The autumn wind is bleak, and the waves surge. .The journey of the sun and the moon can be seen in it. The stars are brilliant as if they are seen in it. How lucky it is! Songs are indebted to aspirations. After returning to the military camp, Cao Cao's heart was still ups and downs, and he could not calm down for a long time. He thought: Although Yuan Shao and Tadun in the north are Although peace has been achieved, Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the south still dominate each other. The great cause of the reunification of the motherland has not yet been realized. At this time, Cao Cao was already fifty-three years old, but he shouldered the heavy responsibility of history, and the mission of reunifying the motherland was still on his shoulders. It was calling him. Thinking about it, his passion became unbearable, and his pride arose again. He strode to the case and wrote: Although the tortoise has a long life, it still has its time. The snake rides on the mist and will eventually become ashes. The old man is frustrated and ambitious. Thousands of miles away. In the old age of the martyrs, their ambitions are endless. The period of growth and shrinkage is not only in the sky; the blessing of nourishment can lead to eternal life. Fortunately, even! Songs are dedicated to aspirations. These two poems express Cao Cao's love for nature, contempt for destiny, and old age. , The positive and enterprising spirit of aiming for a thousand miles expresses his heroic ambition to change reality and unify the motherland. The poet realizes that people are born, old, sick and die, but he is not negative. He wants to make contributions to make up for this regret in life.