Li Ling, styled Shaoqing, was a renowned general under Emperor Wu of Han, trusted to lead cavalry against the Xiongnu. Skilled in archery and military strategy, he enjoyed the court's full confidence.
Unexpectedly, Li Ling, facing overwhelming enemy forces in battle against the Xiongnu, was left with no choice but to surrender.
When Emperor Wu of Han heard that his general Li Ling had surrendered to the Xiongnu, he flew into a rage, feeling that Li Ling had betrayed his trust, and all the court officials promptly condemned Li Ling for lacking backbone.
Only the Grand Historian Sima Qian disagreed, saying, "I never had much personal connection with Li Ling, but I saw he was a man of great loyalty, filial to his parents and kind to his soldiers. He always longed to sacrifice himself for the nation's crises. So I believe that when Li Ling led fewer than five thousand troops against tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, suffering heavy casualties, running out of supplies, and with his retreat cut off, his forced surrender was understandable. Moreover, I think his surrender was not out of cowardice but to wait for a better opportunity to repay his country."
Sima Qian's reasoning was sound, but Emperor Wu of Han saw it as defending Li Ling, confusing right and wrong, and had him imprisoned and subjected to castration.
Later, Emperor Wu of Han had Li Ling's entire family executed. Upon learning this, Li Ling was deeply grieved; he married and started a family among the Xiongnu, never returning to his homeland, and thus failed to fulfill his wish to sacrifice himself for his country with utter devotion.
Later, the idiom "fèn bù gù shēn" came to describe charging forward bravely, regardless of personal safety.
Source: *Book of Han*, "Biography of Sima Qian"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "奋不顾身" came to describe charging forward bravely, regardless of personal safety.