lying with one's head pillowed on a spear,waiting for day to break

In the western jin dynasty there were two young men.one of them was zu ti and the other was liu kun.both of them were men of ideals and integrity who were chivalrous and of a sanguine disposition.they not only wrote excellent articles but also were fond of practising martial arts to keep fit, in order to render meritorious service to the country.both of them were chief clerks responsible for document administration in luoyang.although in appearance the jin dynasty had jurisdiction of the central plains comprising the middle and lower reaches of the haunch and threatened by foreign invasion.zu ti and liu kun often talked about the country's situation till late into the night,and each time they talking very excitedly again.liu kun fell asleep without knowing it,but zu ti was too excited to fall asleep." cock-a-doodle-doo,"came the crow of rooster in the wasteland.zu ti jumped up and kicked liu kun awake:"listen.how inspiring the rooster's crow is.let's get up and practised on a slope.from then on,they kept practising sword playing vigorously and energetically in the wasteland every day when they heard the first crow in the morning.deeply moved by zu ti's patriotic passion,liu kun was determined to devote himself to his homeland.once he wrote to his family:"at the time when the country is in dire peril,i am resolved to dedicate myselt to the service of my country.i often fear that i might lag behind zu ti in rendering service to the country,and,in fact,i am behind him..." the words" sleep with my head pillowed on a spear,waiting for the day to break"vividly described liu kun's determination to dedicate himself to the service of the country and to fight the enemy at any time.later,this set phrase is used to mean maintaining sharp vigilance and being ready to fight at any time."

Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記; pinyin: Xīyóujì) written by Wu Cheng'en. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.

Sun Wukong possesses an immense amount of strength; he is able to lift his 13,500 jīn (8,100 kg or 17,881 lbs) staff with ease. He is also superbly fast, able to travel 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers or 33,554 mi) in one somersault. Sun knows 72 transformations, which allows him to transform into various animals and objects; he has trouble, however, transforming into other people, because he is unable to complete the transformation of his tail. He is a skilled fighter, capable of holding his own against the best generals of heaven. Each of his hairs possesses magical properties, and is capable of transforming either into a clone of the Monkey King himself, or various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knows spells that can command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans, demons, and gods alike.

One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Sun Wukong has a varied background and colorful cultural history. For example, Sun Wukong is considered by some American, Chinese, and Indian scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore

One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters, Sun Wukong has a varied background and colorful cultural history. For example, Sun Wukong is considered by some American, Chinese, and Indian scholars to be influenced by both the Hindu deity Hanuman from the Ramayana and elements of Chinese folklore.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century,[1] is a historical novel set amidst the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 CE and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 CE.

The story (part historical, part legend, and part myth) romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han Dynasty or restore it. While the novel actually follows literally hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and army battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. This novel also gives readers a sense of how the Chinese view their history in a cyclical lens. The famous opening lines of the novel summarise this view: It is a general truism of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide (話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分).

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters. The novel is among the most beloved works of literature in East Asia,[4] and its literary influence in the region has been compared to that of the works of Shakespeare had on English literature. It is arguably the most widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China.