📖 Meaning
Literally means breaking withered branches and pulling up rotten wood. It is a metaphor for accomplishing something with extreme ease, as if sweeping aside obstacles that offer no resistance whatsoever.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the "三合会讨满清檄文" (Triad Society's Manifesto Against the Manchu Qing Dynasty). The Triad Society, a secret anti-Qing organization, used this phrase alongside "破釜沉舟" (burning the boats) to express their revolutionary determination. They likened overthrowing the Qing government to breaking dry twigs and pulling rotten timber — something that required minimal effort. The manifesto was a rallying call, asserting that the corrupt Qing regime would collapse at the slightest push.
💡 Example Usage
他以摧枯拉腐之势击败了所有对手。
He defeated all his opponents with overwhelming ease, like breaking dry twigs.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 摧枯拉腐
- Pinyin: cuī kū lā fǔ
- Literal Translation: break, withered, pull, rotten
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4