直捣黄龙
直捣黄龙 (zhí dǎo huáng lóng) literally means “drive straight to huanglong” and expresses “strike directly at the heart of enemy territory”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving strategy and action.
Also searched as: zhi dao huang long, zhi dao huang long,直捣黄龙 meaning, 直捣黄龙 in english
Strike directly at the heart of enemy territory
Pronunciation: zhí dǎo huáng lóng Literal meaning: Drive straight to Huanglong
Origin & Usage
The History of Song records Yue Fei telling his officers 直抵黄龙府，与诸君痛饮尔 — we will reach Huanglong Prefecture (黄龙) and drink together there. The modern form swaps 抵, to arrive at, for 捣, to smash into, and comes from the later Yue Fei fiction rather than from the history. Huanglong lay far to the northeast, deep in Jurchen Jin territory, and not at Kaifeng, which had been the Song's own capital before its loss — so naming it meant carrying the war into the enemy's heartland rather than merely recovering what had been taken. Yue Fei was recalled and executed before he could try. Striking at the source of a problem rather than at its symptoms.
Examples
English: "The military campaign bypassed smaller targets to strike directly at the enemy's capital"
Chinese: 军事行动绕过较小的目标，直接打击敌人的首都
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about strategy & action
胸有成竹
xiōng yǒu chéng zhú
Have clear plan beforehand
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步步为营
bù bù wéi yíng
Advance methodically with caution
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退避三舍
tuì bì sān shè
Make concessions to avoid conflict
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旁敲侧击
páng qiāo cè jī
Approach indirectly to achieve goal
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暗度陈仓
àn dù chén cāng
Achieve secretly through misdirection
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釜底抽薪
fǔ dǐ chōu xīn
Eliminate root cause of problem
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推波助澜
tuī bō zhù lán
Amplifying existing trends or momentum
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鹬蚌相争
yù bàng xiāng zhēng
Mutual conflict benefits third party
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 直捣黄龙 mean in English?
直捣黄龙 (zhí dǎo huáng lóng) literally translates to “Drive straight to Huanglong” and is used to express “Strike directly at the heart of enemy territory”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Strategy & Action category.
When is 直捣黄龙 used?
Situation: The military campaign bypassed smaller targets to strike directly at the enemy's capital
What is the pinyin for 直捣黄龙?
The pinyin pronunciation for 直捣黄龙 is “zhí dǎo huáng lóng”.
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