📖 Meaning
Literally 'taking up weapons within the same room,' this idiom refers to internal strife or fratricidal conflict among people who should be united, especially brothers or members of the same group. It is used critically to describe infighting that brings shame and benefits outsiders.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase is famously quoted in Sun Yat-sen's 1912 'Exhortation to the Officers and Soldiers of the Northern Army,' written during the early Republic of China period. In it, Sun condemns the Manchu Qing dynasty for exploiting divisions among Han Chinese, writing that 'with the selfish heart of Manchu usurpation, they unleashed the tragic calamity of Han killing Han, wielding weapons within the same room and becoming a laughingstock before foreigners.' The expression draws on the much older classical image of 同室操戈, found in works such as the 'Book of Rites' commentary tradition, to denounce internal violence among kin or compatriots.
💡 Example Usage
兄弟俩为争夺家产操戈同室，让旁人看了笑话。
The two brothers turned on each other fighting over the family inheritance, making a laughingstock of themselves before outsiders.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 操戈同室
- Pinyin: cāo gē tóon shì
- Literal Translation: take up, spear, same, room
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4