📖 Meaning
Describes going through numerous twists, turns, and setbacks before reaching a goal. It conveys a journey or process fraught with complications and indirect detours. The phrase emphasizes the tortuous nature of the path one must traverse.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a Buddhist verse by Zhao Puchu (赵朴初), a renowned modern Buddhist leader, scholar, and poet. In his poem '与日本佛教友人谈时事为拈一偈' (A Verse Composed While Discussing Current Affairs with Japanese Buddhist Friends), he wrote the line '百折千回心不退，无畏方能施无畏' — meaning that even after a hundred setbacks and a thousand turns, the mind does not retreat, and only through fearlessness can one bestow fearlessness upon others. The phrase uses 'hundred folds and thousand turns' as a metaphor for the countless difficulties and detours encountered in life, while the verse as a whole celebrates unwavering resolve.
💡 Example Usage
经过百折千回的谈判，双方终于达成了协议。
After countless twists and turns in the negotiations, the two sides finally reached an agreement.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 百折千回
- Pinyin: bǎi zhé qiān huí
- Literal Translation: hundred folds, thousand turns
- Category: Perseverance
- Characters: 4