📖 Meaning
The phrase means that a situation or an illness has become so grave that it can no longer be saved or reversed. '回天' refers to the legendary power to overturn even the decree of heaven, i.e. to reverse an almost hopeless situation, while '乏术' means lacking any means or method to do so. It is used to express helplessness in the face of an irreversible outcome.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom is attested in the Qing-dynasty work 《昔柳摭谈·秋风自悼》 by Feng Qifeng. In the passage, the narrator, upon learning devastating news, feels as though ten thousand arrows pierce his heart and his organs are about to split. Yet he reflects that the matter is like wood already carved into a boat — firmly settled and impossible to change, leaving him with no method to reverse it ('木已成舟，回天乏术'). The image of 'turning back heaven' alludes to the ancient belief that even celestial fate could be overturned by immense power, underscoring the speaker's despair that no such power is available. The phrase has since become a standard expression for a situation or condition beyond any remedy.
💡 Example Usage
病情已经恶化到回天乏术的地步，医生也束手无策。
The illness had deteriorated to the point of no recovery, and even the doctors were at a loss.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 回天乏术
- Pinyin: huí tiān fá shù
- Literal Translation: turn back, heaven (fate), lack, method/means
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4