📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a state where warfare drags on without end, bringing endless calamity and suffering upon the people. It conveys the grim aftermath of prolonged conflict rather than a single battle.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Biography of the Xiongnu' (匈奴传) in the Book of Han (汉书), compiled by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han dynasty. The original passage records that although the Han court achieved victories against the northern Xiongnu nomads, the Xiongnu always retaliated, so wars and disasters remained intertwined for over thirty years. It reflects the heavy toll of the Han-Xiongnu conflicts along the northern frontier.
💡 Example Usage
战火纷飞，祸结兵连，百姓流离失所。
With warfare raging on all sides and calamities piling one upon another, the common people were driven from their homes.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 祸结兵连
- Pinyin: huò jié bīng lián
- Literal Translation: disasters knot together, wars link continuously
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4