Chinese idiom from the beifa ("Northern Expedition")?

[khedive]

Hello,

Possibly I will show my poor command of Chinese with this question, but hope my elder brothers will assist. Does the idiom "fighting on all sides" (南征北伐 - nán zhēng běi fá) have anything to do with the 1926-1928 Northern Expedition of the Guomindang (Kuomintang), or does it come from earlier military campaigns? Thank you.

John Dunn

[peter2010]

The idiom dates from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), possibly earlier.

[khedive]

Dear Peter 2010, thanks for your answer.

[Windward]

bei fa (northern expedition):

89 AD, Han Dynasty 汉 vs Huns 匈奴

228-234 AD, Shu Dynasty 蜀 vs Wei Dynasty 魏 (five expeditions)

238-262 AD, Shu Dynasty 蜀 vs Wei Dynasty 魏 (11 expeditions)

313 AD, Jin Dynasty 晋 vs northern warlords

353, 356 AD, Jin Dynasty 晋 vs Qin 前秦

369 AD, Jin Dynasty 晋 vs Yan 燕

409 AD, Song Dynasty 宋 vs Yan 南燕

416 AD, Song Dynasty 宋 vs Qin 后秦

430 AD, Song Dynasty 宋 vs Wei 北魏

529 AD, Liang Dynasty 梁 vs Wei 北魏

959 AD, Zhou Dynasty 后周 vs Khitan 契丹

986 AD, Song Dynasty 宋 vs Khitan 契丹

1133 - 1140 AD, Song Dynasty 南宋 vs Jin Dynasty (Jurchen) 金 (four expeditions)

1163 AD, Song Dynasty 南宋 vs Jin Dynasty 金

1206 AD, Song Dynasty 南宋 vs Jin Dynasty 金

1234 AD, Song Dynasty 南宋 vs Jin Dynasty 金 (while Mongolian invasion)

1368 AD, Ming Dynasty 明 vs Yuan Dynasty (Mongol) 元, conquered Khanbaliq (Beijing)

1370-1421 AD, Ming Dynasty vs Mongol (11 expeditions)

1853 AD, Taiping Tianguo 太平天国 vs Qing Dynasty

1927 AD, KMT vs Beiyang government


regards

[Windward]

nan zheng (southern expeditions):

589 AD, Sui Dynasty 隋 conquered Chen Dynasty 陈

1127 AD, Jin (Jurchen) invasion of Song Dynasty

1235-1279, Mongol invasion of Song Dynasty

1644-1645, Manchu invasion of Ming Dynasty

and the latest one, communist takeover in 1949 (from Manchuria and Northern China)