📖 Meaning
Refers to the twelve gold-lettered tablets sent in a single day by the Song court to recall General Yue Fei from the battlefield. Used as a metaphor for an extremely urgent and irresistible command or order.
📜 Origin Story
During the Southern Song Dynasty, General Yue Fei was winning victories against the Jin invaders and pressing toward the enemy capital. The court minister Qin Hui, fearing Yue Fei's growing power and seeking peace with the Jin, persuaded Emperor Gaozong to order his withdrawal. In a single day, twelve gold-lettered tablets bearing urgent military decrees were dispatched, commanding Yue Fei to halt his advance and return. Forced to comply, Yue Fei withdrew and reportedly lamented that ten years of effort had been destroyed in a single day. The phrase thereafter symbolized urgent, peremptory orders from above.
💡 Example Usage
前线战事吃紧，朝廷连下十二金牌，命他即刻撤军。
With the front line under intense pressure, the court sent twelve gold tablets in succession, ordering him to withdraw his troops immediately.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 十二金牌
- Pinyin: shí èr jīn pái
- Literal Translation: twelve, gold, tablet
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4