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During the Warring States period, after the State of Qi attacked and defeated the State of Yan, its troops remained stationed there for a long time. Other feudal lords discussed forming an alliance to aid Yan.
King Xuan of Qi consulted Mencius, who said: "In ancient times, when King Tang of Shang led his benevolent army to suppress Jie of Xia, the common people yearned for the Shang army as eagerly as people in a great drought long for clouds and rainbows. The other feudal lords are worried that you might treat them in the future as you have treated Yan."

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Open the tool →大旱云霓 (dà hàn yún ní) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to eagerly anticipate something like clouds and rainbows during a severe drought; metaphorically, to intensely yearn or desperately hope for relief, help, or a solution from a difficult, oppressive, or desperate situation”.
大旱云霓 is pronounced dà hàn yún ní in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 大旱云霓 means “Great drought, clouds and rainbows”. It is used to mean “to eagerly anticipate something like clouds and rainbows during a severe drought; metaphorically, to intensely yearn or desperately hope for relief, help, or a solution from a difficult, oppressive, or desperate situation”.
大旱云霓 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
云霓:下雨的征兆。好象大旱的时候盼望寸水一样。比喻渴望解除困境。