​“Analysis of Chinese Characters by bilingual”，is opened for the convenience of Chinese and foreign friends who are interested in Chinese characters. We’ll push a Chinese character every Monday，analyze its originand related culture. If there is any impropriety，welcome to correct us.

为方便对汉字感兴趣的中国朋友和外国朋友，我们新开设了《双语解字》栏目。每周一推送一个汉字的来历和相关文化，如果其中有不恰当的地方，欢迎中外朋友指正。

East（东）

The east is the direction where the sun rise every day. The ancients observed the sun(日)through the trees(木).So sun(日)behind tree(木)became east(東).

“东”的繁体字写作“東”，古代的人认为太阳是从树上升起来的，所以“东”是“日”在“木”字中间。

This is the graduation season，graduates are about to face a new life. So we’ll share an idiom related to“east”——All that is needed is an east wind.

眼下是毕业季，毕业生们都即将面临新生活，我们就跟大家分享一句和“东”有关的成语：万事俱备，只欠东风。

All That Is Needed Is An East Wind

This allusion istaken from The romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In the winter of 208 Cao Cao(曹操) led a large army on a southern campaign.The allied armies of Sun Quan(孙权)and Liu Bei(刘备) were massed on the south bank of the Yangtze River. They planned to attack the warships of Cao Cao with blazing barges. When all the preparations for the attack were completed, they called to mind that the wind in winter always blew from the northwest, and so would blow the fire barges back toward their own ships. So an east wind was needed for the attack. Zhuge Liang(诸葛亮),the chief advisor of Liu Bei, said that he could summon an east wind, and he did so by his ability to divine the unknown. The result was that Cao Cao’s ships were burnt to ashes.

Later,“Everything is ready, and all that is needed is an east wind” came to be used to describe a situation in which all is ready except what is crucial for the fulfilment of an undertaking.

[本段英文翻译：周苓仲]

万事俱备，只欠东风

这个典故出自《三国演义》。

公元208年，曹操收编了刘表部众，率领80万大军向长江推进，驻扎在长江中游的赤壁，企图打败刘备以后，再攻打孙权。刘备的军师诸葛亮说服了孙权联合抗曹，他们打算用火攻。可是等一切都准备好后，周瑜却发现曹操的船只都停在大江的西北，而自己的船只靠在南岸。这时正是冬季，只有西北风，如果用火攻，不但烧不着曹操，反而会烧到自己的头上，只有刮东南风才能对曹军发起火攻。周瑜忧急成病，卧床不起。诸葛亮心中有数，写给周瑜四句话：“欲破曹公，宜用火攻，万事俱备，只欠东风。”诸葛亮有丰富的天文气象知识，他预测到近期一定会刮几天东南风，后来果然如同诸葛亮预测的那样，真的刮起了东南风，曹军的船阵很快地都烧了起来，一眨眼工夫，已经烧成一片火海，损失惨重。这次战役之后（赤壁之战），三国鼎立的局面基本形成。

成语“万事俱备，只欠东风”，比喻一切准备工作都做好了，就差最后一个重要条件。