📖 Meaning
Like the three legs of a tripod standing separately, three parties each occupy one side. It metaphorically describes a situation where three forces are divided and balance each other in a standoff, none daring to act first.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记), in the 'Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin' (淮阴侯列传), which recounts the life of the Han dynasty general Han Xin (韩信). During the Chu-Han Contention, Han Xin's advisor Kuai Tong (蒯通) urged him not to ally with either Liu Bang or Xiang Yu. Instead, Kuai Tong proposed that Han Xin keep both sides balanced and divide the realm into three parts, forming a tripod-like standoff where no party would dare to make the first move. Though Han Xin ultimately rejected this counsel, the vivid image of a tripod's three legs enduring as a metaphor for tripartite stalemate entered the language.
💡 Example Usage
三国时期，魏蜀吴三方鼎足而立，形成了长达数十年的对峙局面。
During the Three Kingdoms period, the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu stood like the legs of a tripod, locked in a decades-long standoff.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鼎足而立
- Pinyin: dǐng zú ér lì
- Literal Translation: tripod, foot, and, stand
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4