








烈士暮年,壮心不已 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a person of high ideals still cherishes lofty ambitions in old age”. One's heroic spirit remains undiminished even in their twilight years. Literally, “A noble-spirited person in their twilight years, their grand ambition never ceases”.
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao led his armies to successively defeat various regional forces including Dong Zhuo, the Yellow Turban rebels, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and Liu Biao, thus consolidating control over the northern regions.
Later, Yuan Shao's sons sought refuge with the Wuhuan people in the north. At 53 years old, Cao Cao personally commanded a large army to completely subdue the 200,000 Wuhuan people. Upon his triumphant return, he composed the poem "Walking Out of Xiamen Gate" (步出夏门行), which famously includes the lines: "An old warhorse in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li; a man of noble spirit in his twilight years, his grand ambition never ceases."

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Open the tool →烈士暮年,壮心不已 (liè shì mù nián , zhuàng xīn bù yǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a person of high ideals still cherishes lofty ambitions in old age”.
烈士暮年,壮心不已 is pronounced liè shì mù nián , zhuàng xīn bù yǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 烈士暮年,壮心不已 means “a noble-spirited person in their twilight years, their grand ambition never ceases”. It is used to mean “a person of high ideals still cherishes lofty ambitions in old age”.
烈士暮年,壮心不已 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
烈士:志向远大的英雄。已:停止,衰减。英雄到了晚年,壮志雄心并不衰减。