📖 Meaning
The true situation has been exposed to the enemy, and one's position has become disadvantageous. Originally a military term describing a state where one's conditions are known to the opponent while one holds the weaker hand.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记), specifically the biography of Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, during the Western Han dynasty. The advisor Kuai Tong warned Han Xin that if he led his exhausted troops to besiege the heavily fortified city of Yan, the campaign would drag on, supplies would dwindle, and his disadvantageous position would become apparent to all—allowing Yan to resist and Qi to strengthen its defenses.
💡 Example Usage
敌军情见势屈，只得弃城而逃。
The enemy forces, their situation exposed and their position weakened, had no choice but to abandon the city and flee.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 情见势屈
- Pinyin: qíng xiàn shì qū
- Literal Translation: circumstances, revealed, position, disadvantaged
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4