📖 Meaning
Describes a situation where one props up one side only to have the other side collapse. It metaphorically refers to attending to one problem while neglecting another, or to deeply ingrained bad habits that keep resurfacing—correct one and another pops up.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from a poem titled 'Passing Nandang' (《过南荡》) by Yang Wanli, a renowned poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the poem, he humorously describes a hibiscus hedge that, despite its best efforts, cannot stay upright—when propped up on the east side, it topples over on the west. The image of this struggling hedge became a vivid metaphor for the futility of piecemeal fixes when the underlying problem is pervasive.
💡 Example Usage
他带三个新手，整天东扶西倒，累得够呛。
He's training three rookies and spends all day putting out one fire only to have another flare up—he's completely exhausted.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 东扶西倒
- Pinyin: dōng fú xī dǎo
- Literal Translation: east, support, west, fall
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4