📖 Meaning
To win victory the moment the battle flag is unfurled. It metaphorically means achieving success right at the very start of an endeavor, before any real effort is needed.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Yuan dynasty anonymous play She Liu Chui Wan (Shooting Willows and Playing Ball), Act Four, which contains the line, 'Thanks to the master's great fortune, the flag is unfurled and victory is won, the horse arrives and success is achieved.' It uses the imagery of a commander unfurling a battle standard at the onset of combat and immediately prevailing. The idiom is frequently paired with 马到成功 and appears in later Ming dynasty works such as Xu Zhonglin's Investiture of the Gods (封神演义).
💡 Example Usage
我队在首场比赛中旗开得胜，以三比零击败对手。
Our team won victory in the very first match, defeating our opponents three to zero.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 旗开得胜
- Pinyin: qí kāi dé shèng
- Literal Translation: flag, open, obtain, victory
- Category: Success
- Characters: 4