04．木部 tree
草grass木tree皆all兵soldier
草木皆兵is a story from The Life of Fu Jian苻坚 in the Records volume of The History of the Jin Dynasty. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty东晋, King Fu Jian unified northern China as the Qin State秦.
His plan was to take over southern China, which was unified under the Jin State. In 383, he led 900000 infantry and cavalry troops to assault the Jin State south of the Fei River淝水.
Unfortunately for Fu Jian. The first attack on the Jin troops was unexpectedly foiled and the Qin soldiers sustained heavy casualties. Many soldiers were in such a great panic that they ran away from the battlefield. Standing on the city wall of the Shouchun City寿春, Fu Jian and his brother Fu Rong苻融 saw that, unlike their men, the Jin troops were gallantly arrayed and in high spirits. Even the bushes and trees that surrounded them seemed vibrant, as if they too were armed soldiers.
Turning to his brother, Fui Jian sighed, “What a powerful enemy this is!” he deeply regretted that he had taken his enemy too lightly.
The idiom草木皆兵means every bush and tree looks like an enemy soldier. It is used to describe a person who is in a state of extreme agitation.
【读作】cǎo mù jiē bīng
【含义】把山上的草木都当做敌兵。形容人在惊慌时疑神疑鬼。
【出处】《晋书·苻坚载记》：坚与苻融登城而望王师，见部阵齐整，将士精锐；又北望八公山上草森皆类人形，顾谓融曰：“此亦劲敌也，何谓少乎？”怃然有惧色。
