📖 Meaning
Literally, to pull the firewood out from under the cauldron. It means to solve a problem by striking at its root cause rather than merely treating the symptoms. The idiom emphasizes a fundamental, decisive solution that eliminates the source of trouble entirely.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from a letter written by Dong Zhuo, a warlord of the late Eastern Han dynasty, to the general He Jin. In the letter, Dong Zhuo advised, 'I have heard that pouring water to stop boiling is not as effective as removing the firewood.' This analogy — that removing the fuel extinguishes the fire rather than trying to suppress the boiling — became the foundation of the idiom. It was later popularized as a proverb and formalized as the four-character saying '釜底抽薪'.
💡 Example Usage
只有釜底抽薪，才能彻底解决这个难题。
Only by tackling the root of the problem can we completely resolve this difficulty.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 釜底抽薪
- Pinyin: fǔ dǐ chōu xīn
- Literal Translation: cauldron, bottom, pull out, firewood
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4