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|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3]); to fight desperately when confronting mortal danger / fig. to find a way out of an impasse
xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè
The first concern is affairs of state, enjoying the pleasure comes later. Quotation from essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记 by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 範仲淹|范仲淹
to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom); striving to the utmost one's whole life / with every breath in one's body, unto one's dying day