In 1275, the Mongol Yuan army launched a massive assault on the Southern Song dynasty, quickly advancing to the gates of the capital Lin'an (modern-day Hangzhou). The court officials, both civil and military, gathered at the Left Prime Minister's mansion, utterly at a loss for what to do.
When the Yuan army proposed that the Southern Song could send a representative to negotiate peace, the court unanimously selected Right Chancellor Wen Tianxiang for the mission. To ease the tense situation, Wen Tianxiang resolutely resigned his chancellorship and went to the Yuan camp in the capacity of an imperial academician.
When Wen Tianxiang arrived at the Mongol camp, he spoke with righteous passion and unyielding dignity, demanding that the Mongol army first withdraw before any peace negotiations could begin. The Mongol commander, Bayan, deeply admired Wen's intellect and tried to tempt him with promises of high rank and wealth, but Wen flatly refused. Bayan then threatened him with death, yet Wen remained utterly fearless.
Meanwhile, Jia Yuqing, who had accompanied Wen Tianxiang on the diplomatic mission, betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy. As a result, Boyan detained Wen Tianxiang.
When the Yuan army finally breached Lin'an, Emperor Gong surrendered along with his civil and military officials, while his two younger brothers escaped the city under the protection of Minister Lu Xiufu. Upon hearing the news, Wen Tianxiang was overcome with grief, yet his resolve to resist the Yuan invaders remained unshaken.
Soon after, the traitor Jia Yuqing arrived at the Yuan capital to surrender
When Wen Tianxiang arrived at Zhenzhou (present-day Yizheng, Jiangsu) to strategize with the garrison commander Miao Zaicheng on repelling the enemy, Li Tingzhi, the Huai-Dong border commander stationed in Yangzhou, mistakenly believed Wen had surrendered to the Yuan forces and ordered Miao to eliminate him. Miao, unwilling to carry out the execution, escorted Wen out of the city instead.
To clear up Li Tingzhi's misunderstanding, Wen Tianxiang personally went to Yangzhou, but Li Tingzhi had already issued a warrant for his arrest. Realizing he could not explain himself, Wen Tianxiang left Yangzhou and, upon learning that Emperor Gong's younger brother Zhao Shi had ascended the throne in Fuzhou, took a sea vessel to Fuzhou.
Along the journey, Wen Tianxiang composed many deeply moving poems expressing his patriotic fervor. He compiled these poems into a collection and, inspired by the line "My heart is like a compass needle, never resting until it points south," named it *Guide Record*, demonstrating his unwavering loyalty to the Song Dynasty. In his postscript to the collection, he wrote, "When the pain has passed and we recall it, how much more painful it becomes," a phrase capturing his extreme anguish as he reflected on the perilous situations he had endured, using this to inspire himself and enlighten future generations.
Later, people used the idiom "Pain Recalls Pain" to describe the heartache that deepens when reflecting on past suffering after the initial grief has subsided.
Source: Wen Tianxiang (Song Dynasty), *Guide Record Postscript*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "痛定思痛" came to describe how the heartache that deepens when reflecting on past suffering after the initial grief has subsided.