置之死地而后生

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

to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler

back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-

-ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct

earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[pian4]

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

to be born / to give birth / life / to grow / raw / uncooked / student

to install / to place / to put / to buy

after that / then

young generation / youth / young man

to place sb on field of death / to confront with mortal danger / to give sb no way out / with one's back to the wall / looking death in the eye / part of idiom 置之死地而後生|置之死地而后生