卧薪尝胆 (wòxīnchángdán) Being the sovereign who lost your ancestor’s domain to outside influence is never easy, and some sovereigns in China’s past have taken extreme measures to remind themselves of the shame they endured so that they may one day repay their enemies in kind. One such story was so unique that its key phrase, 卧薪尝胆 (woxinchangdan), eventually became a chengyu.
The story goes that 勾践 （gōujiàn), king of 越国（yuèguó), in order to save his own life and the lives of his family members after being defeated in battle by 夫差 （fūchāi), king of 吴（wú）, agreed to become a slave. For years the king of a nation fed horses, cleaned stalls, and did other manual labor for the man who had defeated him in battle – all without complaint, without even a hint of dissatisfaction. When 夫差 fell sick, 勾践 even tasted 夫差’s stool in order to ascertain the nature of 夫差’s illness. Any suspicions that 夫差 may have had about 勾践’s intentions were quelled by 夫差’s seemingly unwavering loyalty. Eventually, 夫差 came to feel that 勾践 was so emasculated and of no threat to him, that he allowed him and his family to return to 越国.
With the help of his advisors, 勾践 planned his revenge. In order to keep the memories of his shame fresh in his mind, he decided to rid himself of all pleasantries and luxuries that he enjoyed in the past. Instead, he adopted extremely austere living standards in order to harden himself for the task of strengthening his country once again so that he may exact his revenge upon his enemy. Of particular note was the fact that instead of sleeping on a bed, as befit a king, he slept on firewood, and hung a piece of pig’s gall bladder above his head to lick everyday when he woke up. The bitter taste of the pig’s gall bladder (one would have to believe that he changed this gall bladder daily) reminded him of the many things he had to do to strengthen his country and attain his goal. He maintained this routine for ten years. By that time, 越国 was strong, and 勾践 launched an attack against 夫差. 吴国 was no match, and 勾践 attained victory and the last laugh.