📖 Meaning
The path of true advancement may appear like retreating. It expresses the Daoist philosophical idea that genuine progress often looks like backward movement to the untrained eye. The idiom is a variant of '进道若退' (jìn dào ruò tuì).
📜 Origin Story
This idiom stems from Daoist philosophy, closely related to the passage in the Laozi (Daodejing) of the Spring and Autumn period, where Laozi describes how the great way appears contrary to ordinary perception. The concept that 'the way of advance seems like retreat' reflects the Daoist dialectical view that apparent regression can signify true progress. The variant character '踡' (quán, to curl up) conveys a sense of contracting or drawing back, reinforcing the imagery of seeming retreat. It has been used in later literary and philosophical writings to describe situations where strategic withdrawal or humility leads to forward advancement.
💡 Example Usage
老将军深知进道若踡的道理，主动撤兵十里以诱敌深入。
The old general, well versed in the principle that true advance may look like retreat, deliberately withdrew his troops ten li to lure the enemy deeper.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 进道若踡
- Pinyin: jìn dào ruò quán
- Literal Translation: advance, way, seem, retreat
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4