History
老驥伏櫪 志在千里
“The old warhorse lies in the stable, yet its heart still runs a thousand miles; the hero grows old, but his great ambition never rests.”
— Cao Cao曹操
ko늙은 천리마는 마구간에 엎드려 있어도 뜻은 천 리를 달리고, 열사는 늙어도 그 웅심이 그치지 않는다.
ja老いた駿馬は厩に伏していても、志は千里を駆ける。烈士は晩年になっても、雄心の已むことがない。
The scene behind the words
A couplet from the poem Cao Cao wrote past fifty, returning from his northern campaign. Acknowledging mortality while refusing to make age an excuse, it became East Asia’s definitive quotation on undiminished ambition in later life — the signature of Cao Cao the poet.
Source: Cao Cao’s poem "Though the Tortoise Lives Long"