📖 Meaning
It collapses on its own without needing to be attacked. This idiom describes an argument, theory, or claim that cannot withstand scrutiny or refutation and falls apart by itself. It is commonly used to point out the inherent flaws in a weak position.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the Jin dynasty scholar Gan Bao's work 'Jin Ji' (晋记), where he wrote 'therefore without attack it defeats itself.' The Tang dynasty official Gu Dezhang later used the same expression in his memorial 'On the Repair and Abandonment of the Eastern Capital's Ancestral Temple,' stating that the argument for establishing a temple in the capital 'collapses on its own without attack.' Over time the phrase became a standard way to dismiss arguments that are self-evidently untenable.
💡 Example Usage
这种荒谬的说法根本经不起推敲，不攻自破。
Such an absurd claim cannot withstand any scrutiny and collapses on its own.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不攻自破
- Pinyin: bù gōng zì pò
- Literal Translation: not, attack, self, break
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4