Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901), a peasant uprising that attempted to expel all foreigners from China, eventually suppressed by an international coalition
皇天不负苦心人
Huáng tiān bù fù kǔ xīn rén
Heaven will not disappoint the person who tries (idiom). If you try hard, you're bound to succeed eventually.
落叶归根
luò yè guī gēn
lit. a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom) / fig. all things go back to their source eventually / in old age, an expatriate returns home
养兵千日，用兵一时
yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí
lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom) / fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off
养兵千日，用在一朝
yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng zài yī cháo
lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning. (idiom) / fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off
骊姬之乱
Lí Jī zhī Luàn
Li Ji Rebellion in 657-651 BC, where concubine Li Ji tried to throne her son but was eventually defeated by Duke Wen of Jin 晉文公|晋文公[Jin4 Wen2 gong1]
养兵千日，用在一朝
yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng zài yī zhāo
lit. train an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning (idiom) / fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off
积土成山
jī tǔ chéng shān
lit. piling up dirt eventually creates a mountain (idiom) / fig. success is the cumulation of lots of small actions
抽丝剥茧
chōu sī - bō jiǎn
lit. to unwind the silk thread from the cocoon (idiom) / fig. to unravel a mystery / to painstakingly follow the clues to eventually get to the bottom of the matter
乐昌破镜
Lè chāng - pò jìng
lit. the story of the broken mirror of Princess Lechang 樂昌公主|乐昌公主[Le4chang1 Gong1zhu3] (In the tale, the princess and her husband, fearing separation during the turbulence of war, broke a bronze mirror in half. They each kept one half as a token, with the promise to reunite by matching the pieces together. They were indeed separated, but eventually reunited, with the mirror playing a crucial role in their reunion.) (idiom) / fig. the reunion of separated lovers or the restoration of a relationship
zǒng