📖 Meaning
Advancing or retreating both leads to hitting a fence. It describes being caught in a dilemma where every direction is blocked by obstacles. It is equivalent to the variant 进退触藩.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom evokes the image of being hemmed in by a fence on all sides, unable to move forward or backward without obstruction. The variant form 进退触藩 uses 藩 (hedge or fence) and draws on imagery common in classical Chinese literature depicting entrapment. It captures the predicament of having no viable path, whether advancing or retreating. No single definitive origin story is recorded for this expression.
💡 Example Usage
公司资金链断裂，进退触篱，只能寻求外部融资。
The company's capital chain broke, leaving it in a dilemma with no way forward or back, so it could only seek outside financing.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 进退触篱
- Pinyin: jìn tuì chù lí
- Literal Translation: advance, retreat, touch, fence
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4