📖 Meaning
To tie one's own hands and allow oneself to be captured, offering no resistance whatsoever. It describes giving up without a fight or surrendering meekly to an opponent, authority, or circumstances.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the biography of Fu Yanqing in the 'History of Song' (宋史·苻彦卿传), a dynastic history covering the Northern Song. Fu Yanqing was a prominent military general, and the line records his declaration that it would be better to fight to the death than to meekly allow himself to be taken prisoner, since death in battle was not even certain. The quotation runs: 'Rather than bind our hands and be captured, we should fight to the death — and death is not necessarily assured.' Over time the expression shed its battlefield context and came to mean surrendering or submitting without any resistance in any situation.
💡 Example Usage
警方已封锁所有出口，歹徒见无路可逃，只好束手就擒。
The police had sealed off every exit; seeing no way out, the criminals had no choice but to surrender without resistance.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 束手就擒
- Pinyin: shù shǒu jiù qín
- Literal Translation: tie, hand, then, be captured
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4