📖 Meaning
To approach a problem by targeting its crucial point and resolving it smoothly. The idiom describes cutting through complexity by following natural seams and openings rather than forcing one's way through resistance. It emphasizes working with the inherent structure of a challenge rather than against it.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of 批郄导窾, originating from the story of Cook Ding in Zhuangzi's 'The Secret of Caring for Life' (养生主), written during the Warring States period (c. 4th century BCE). Cook Ding amazed Lord Wenhui by dissecting an ox with a knife that never dulled, explaining he followed the natural gaps and cavities between bones and joints. The variant 批砉导竨 uses 砉 (the sound of cleaving) and 竨 (a cavity or hollow) to convey the same idea: striking through openings and guiding along hollows. The idiom has since been used to describe skilled problem-solving by finding the key entry point.
💡 Example Usage
面对复杂工程，他批砉导竨，迅速化解了难题。
Faced with a complex engineering challenge, he struck at the crucial gap and guided through the hollow, quickly resolving the problem.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 批砉导竨
- Pinyin: pī huā dǎo táo
- Literal Translation: split the sound, guide the hollow
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4