📖 Meaning
To fill up the wells and burn down the houses, cutting off all means of retreat. This idiom expresses an extreme, unwavering resolve to fight to the death with no possibility of turning back. It conveys a do-or-die determination where survival depends entirely on victory.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom has no single recorded source text. It draws from ancient Chinese military philosophy in which a commander would destroy all supplies, shelter, and escape routes to leave soldiers with no option but to fight ferociously. The tactic is famously associated with Xiang Yu during the Battle of Julu (207 BCE), who ordered his men to break their cooking cauldrons and sink their boats after crossing the Zhang River. Though the exact phrase '塞井焚舍' may not appear in that account, the underlying logic is identical: eliminate every retreat so that the only path forward is through the enemy.
💡 Example Usage
将士们塞井焚舍，誓与城池共存亡。
The soldiers filled the wells and burned their houses, vowing to defend the city with their lives or perish with it.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 塞井焚舍
- Pinyin: sāi jǐng fén shě
- Literal Translation: block, well, burn, house
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4