📖 Meaning
To keep one's troops stationary without launching an attack or taking action; equivalent to 按兵不动. It describes deliberately holding back, often to observe the situation or await a more favorable opportunity before acting.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Yuan dynasty anonymous plays and Ming dynasty works such as 《精忠记·挂冠》, which extols Yue Fei and his sons for their loyal resistance against the Jin invaders. In the Yuan play 《开诏救忠》, it is used accusingly against treacherous officials who deliberately withheld their forces, letting loyal generals be destroyed — hence the line charging them with harboring a 'more vicious heart' for holding back their troops. Over time the idiom came to denote intentional military or strategic inaction.
💡 Example Usage
面对敌军挑衅，将军决定按兵不举，静待战机。
Faced with the enemy's provocation, the general decided to hold his troops in check and wait for the right moment to strike.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 按兵不举
- Pinyin: àn bīng bù jǔ
- Literal Translation: hold, troops, not, move
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4