围魏救赵

Prononciation: wéi wèi jiù zhào Signification littérale: Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao

Origine et Usage

This idiom refers to besieging (围) Wei (魏) to rescue (救) Zhao (赵). During the Warring States period, when Wei attacked Zhao, strategist Sun Bin advised attacking Wei's capital instead of sending relief forces directly. This forced Wei to withdraw. It became one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, describing indirect approaches that relieve pressure by attacking the attacker's vulnerabilities.

Exemples

Anglais: "Instead of defending directly, they attacked the competitor's main market."

Chinois: 他们没有直接防守，而是围魏救赵，攻击对手的主要市场。