肝脑涂地

Pronunciation: gān nǎo tú dì Literal meaning: Livers and brains smeared

Origin & Usage

Lou Jing, arguing that Liu Bang should site his capital in the defensible Guanzhong rather than the exhausted central plain, described what the wars of the previous decade had actually left behind: fathers and sons with their livers (肝) and brains (脑) smeared (涂) on the ground (地). The phrase began as a description of massacre. It has since inverted into a pledge — I would give my liver and brains for this — and is now used to swear total commitment, usually to a ruler, a country or a cause. The original horror has drained out of it almost completely.

Examples

English: "He was willing to sacrifice everything for his friends, showing his true loyalty."

Chinese: 为了朋友，他甘愿肝脑涂地，表现出真正的忠诚。