临危不惧

Pronunciation: lín wēi bù jù Literal meaning: Face danger without fear

Origin & Usage

Meeting (临) danger (危) without (不) fear (惧). The formulation descends from the Zhuangzi's praise of the man who faces great peril without alarm, and it hardened into a standard term of commendation in later histories and biographies. What it denotes is composure under threat rather than absence of the feeling — specifically the ability to keep acting while afraid, which is why it is awarded to people rather than claimed by them. Those who stayed functional in a crisis when others nearby did not have earned it.

Examples

English: "The firefighter rushed into the burning building without hesitation"

Chinese: 消防员毫不犹豫地冲进了燃烧的大楼