背水一战(背水一戰)

Pronunciation: bèi shuǐ yī zhàn Literal meaning: Back to water one battle

Origin & Usage

This idiom originated from the 'Records of the Grand Historian' account of Han Xin's 204 BCE victory. This brilliant general deliberately trapped his outnumbered forces against a river, eliminating retreat possibilities to ensure total commitment. During the Han Dynasty, it entered strategic lexicon as both military tactic and psychological principle. Positioning troops with backs to water (背水) for a single decisive battle (一战) created unmistakable stakes—victory or annihilation with no middle ground. Unlike terms simply meaning 'desperate,' it specifically describes deliberately eliminating retreat options to ensure maximum commitment. Modern usage spans business strategy to personal challenges, describing situations where deliberately eliminating fallback options increases performance by focusing complete resources on the essential objective, particularly when retreat temptation would otherwise undermine necessary commitment to difficult but achievable goals.

When to Use

Situation: With bankruptcy looming, the company made a final all-or-nothing product launch

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