置ㄓˋzhì之ㄓzhī死ㄙˇsǐ地ㄉㄧˋdì而ㄦˊér後ㄏㄡˋhòu生ㄕㄥshēng

  1. 形容置身於無退路的境地，勢必能拚死向前，求得生存。參見「陷之死地而後生」條。《三國演義·第九五回》：「孫子云：『置之死地而後生。』若魏兵絕我汲水之道，蜀兵豈不死戰？以一可當百也。」

英place sb on a field of death and he will fight to live (idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3])​; to fight desperately when confronting mortal danger, fig. to find a way out of an impasse