📖 Meaning
To exhaust all national resources and recklessly wage war. It describes an extremely bellicose ruler or state that persistently launches aggressive military campaigns without regard for the toll on its people and economy.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the biography of Lu Kang (陆抗) in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, section on Wu. Lu Kang, a distinguished general of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, submitted a memorial to his ruler Sun Hao, criticizing the policy of endless military expeditions. He warned that the generals were pursuing personal glory through reckless warfare, depleting the state treasury and exhausting the soldiers, while the rival state of Jin grew no weaker and Wu itself was gravely weakened. His words became a timeless caution against militarism.
💡 Example Usage
历史上穷兵黩武的统治者最终都走向了灭亡。
Throughout history, rulers who exhausted their nations through reckless militarism ultimately met their downfall.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 穷兵黩武
- Pinyin: qióng bīng dú wǔ
- Literal Translation: exhaust, military, reckless, warfare
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4