10 Chinese Idioms About Competition & Rivalry

Trace back to source

Literal meaning: Chase root trace source

Emerging from Song Dynasty (960-1279) scholarly methodology, this idiom combines the actions of chasing (追) to the root (本) and tracing (溯) to the source (源). It reflected the Neo-Confucian emphasis on understanding phenomena by examining their origins, influenced by Han Dynasty historiographical tr...

Hide malice behind smile

Literal meaning: Hide knife in smile

This chilling idiom describes hiding a knife (刀) within a smile (笑), originating from historical accounts of court intrigue during the Late Han period. It gained prominence through stories of strategic advisors who maintained friendly appearances while plotting against rivals. The contrast between t...

Small problems cause disaster

Literal meaning: Ant holes break dike

Dating to ancient Chinese agricultural texts, this observation of how tiny ant (蚁) holes (穴) can ultimately destroy (坏) a massive dike (堤) became a powerful metaphor for how small problems can lead to catastrophic failures. The imagery draws from the annual flooding seasons when river management was...

Vast and mighty

Literal meaning: Vast mighty flow

This rhythmic description of vast (浩浩) flowing (荡荡) movement originated from classical descriptions of the Yellow River's mighty course. During the Tang Dynasty, it evolved to describe impressive military processions and large-scale social movements. The doubled characters create a sense of continuo...

Utterly impossible to escape

Literal meaning: Add wings difficult fly

This vivid idiom suggests that even adding (插) wings (翅) wouldn't make escape possible (难飞), originating from Tang Dynasty prison terminology. Historical records describe how imperial prisons were designed so securely that the metaphorical addition of wings wouldn't enable flight. The phrase gained ...

Embrace diverse ideas inclusively

Literal meaning: Gather all store together

This inclusive approach advocates gathering (收) comprehensively (兼) while storing (蓄) everything together (并), originating from Tang Dynasty intellectual movements. It gained prominence through scholar-officials like Liu Zongyuan who advocated synthesizing Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist wisdom rath...

Accept without proper understanding

Literal meaning: Swallow dates whole

This digestive idiom describes swallowing (吞) jujube dates (枣) whole (囫囵) without proper chewing, originating from Song Dynasty educational texts. It first appeared in critiques of students who memorized classical texts without understanding their meaning. The specific reference to dates was meaning...

Prioritize minor over fundamental matters

Literal meaning: Root branch reversed position

This organizational idiom criticizes reversing (倒置) the proper order of root/fundamental (本) and branch/peripheral matters (末), originating from Han Dynasty governance texts. It first appeared in discussions about administrative priorities, warning officials against focusing on secondary issues whil...

Moderation in all things

Literal meaning: Excess equals deficiency

This balanced idiom states that going too far (过) is just as (犹) problematic as not reaching far enough (不及), originating from Confucius's teachings in the Analects. The concept formed a cornerstone of Confucian moderation philosophy, where extremes in either direction were considered equally flawed...

Self-deception through ignoring reality

Literal meaning: Cover ears while stealing bell

This self-deceptive idiom describes covering (掩) one's ears (耳) while stealing (盗) a bell (铃), originating from the Warring States period text 'Lüshi Chunqiu.' It tells of a thief who coveted a bell but worried about its sound. His solution was to cover his own ears while stealing it, foolishly beli...