成竹在胸

Pronunciation: chéng zhú zài xiōng Literal meaning: Complete bamboo in chest

Origin & Usage

This descends from Su Shi's account of the painter Wen Tong of the Northern Song, who held that to paint bamboo (竹) one must first have the finished bamboo complete (成) within the breast (胸) — and then work fast, before the image fades. The idiom is about the completeness of the mental picture, not about caution. 成竹在胸 and 胸有成竹 are the same phrase with the halves reversed. Going in with the whole shape of the thing already settled is the sense, and the contrast is with improvising rather than with recklessness.

Examples

English: "He had already mapped out the entire strategy."

Chinese: 他成竹在胸，已经规划好了整个策略。