三国末年，晋武帝司马炎灭掉蜀国，夺取魏国政权将来，筹备出兵攻打东吴，达成统一全中国的愿望。他召集文武大臣们商量灭大计。多数人觉得，吴国还有肯定实力，一举消灭它恐怕不容易，不如有了足够的筹备再说。
大将杜预不认可多数人的怎么看，写了一道奏章给晋武帝。杜预觉得，需要趁现在昊国衰弱，忙灭掉它，不然等它有了实力就非常难打败它了。司马炎看了杜预的奏章，找我们的最信赖的大臣张华征求建议。张华非常赞同杜预的剖析，也劝司马炎快快攻打吴国，以免留下后患。于是司马炎就下了决心，任命杜预作征南大将军。 公元279年，晋武帝司马炎调动了二十多万兵马，分成六路水陆并进，攻打吴国，一路战鼓齐鸣，战旗飘扬，战士威武雄壮。第二年就攻占了江陵，斩了吴国一员大将，率领军队乘胜追击。在沅江、湘江以南的吴军听到风声吓破了胆，纷纷打开城门投降。司马炎下令让杜预从小路向吴国国都建业进发。此时，有人担忧长江水势疯涨，不如暂收兵等到冬季进攻更有利。杜预坚决反对退兵，他说：目前趁士气高涨，斗志正旺，获得一个又一个胜利，所向披靡（像用快刀劈竹子一样，劈过几节后竹子就迎刃破裂），一举攻击吴国不会再费多大力气了！ 晋朝大军在杜预率领下，直冲向吴都建业，不久就攻占建业灭了吴国。晋武帝统一了全国。
故事源于《晋书杜预传》。成语所向披靡，形容战斗节节胜利，毫无阻挡。
In the last years of the Three Kingdoms period,Sima Yan conquered the Kingdom of Shu and seized the state power of the Kingdom of Wei, and became Emperor Wudi of the Jin Dynasty. Then he planned to send his troops to attack the Kingdom of Wu so as to unify1 China. He called his civil and military officials to discuss the plan to destroy the Kingdom of Wu. Most of them thought that it would be difficult to try to destroy the Kingdom of Wu with one action because the Kingdom of Wu was still powerfull. So it would be better to wait until fuller preparations were made. However,General Du Yu did not agree with them, so he wrote a memorial to the throne. According to Du Yu, it would be better to destroy the Kingdom of Wu as soon as possible, because it was still weak at that time. It would be more difficult to defeat the Kingdom of Wu later if it became stronger. After reading it, Emperor Wudi decided2 to send troops to attack the Kingdom of Wu as early as possible, so as to avoid future trouble. So Emperor Wudi made up his mind, and appointed Du Yu the Grand General for Conquering the south . In 279, sima Yan, Emperor Wudi of the Jin Dynasty, mustered3 more than two hundred thousand troops who were pided into six army pisions to proceed by both land and water to attack the kingdom of Wu. Battle drums thundering and the colours fluttering, the soldiers were full of power and grandeur4. The next day, Jiangling city was captured, and a general of the Kingdom of Wu was killed. And the Jin army pushed on in the flush of victory. Hearing this, the troops of the Kingdom of Wu south of the Yuanjiang River and the Xiangjiang River were overwhelmed with fear, and they opened the gates of cities and surrendered one after another. Sima Yan ordered Du Yu to advance to Jianye, capital city of the Kingdom of Wu, by water.Someone feared that the Yangtze River might have a sharp rise and thought it more advantageous5 to withdraw the troops for the time being and wait until winter came. Du Yu resolutely6 opposed the idea, saying , Now our army's morale7 is high,and our army is winning one victory after another, just like a sharp knife splitting a bamboo. It won't be too strenuous8 to conquer the Kingdom of Wu with one action. Under Du Yu's command , the Jin army charged at the capital city Jianye, occupied it ,and thus destroyed the Kingdom of wu. In this way, Emperor Wudi of the Jin Dynasty unified9 the whole country. This story appears in The Life of Du Yu in The History of the Jin Dynasty. Later the set phrase like splitting a bamboo is used to refer to irresistible10 force or victorious11 advance.
