📖 Meaning
To perish together or end in mutual destruction. It describes a situation where two or more parties meet the same ruinous fate, often as a result of direct conflict where neither side survives. The idiom conveys a sense of final, irreversible annihilation shared by all involved.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Daoist text 'Liezi' (《列子》), specifically the chapter 'Tian Rui' (天瑞), which ponders whether heaven and earth will eventually come to an end. The Tang dynasty scholar Lu Chongxuan (卢重玄) provided a commentary on this passage, stating that although things differ greatly in size and scale, in the end they all 'return together to extinction' (同归于尽). The phrase was later adopted into general usage to describe mutual destruction in any context.
💡 Example Usage
敌人被包围后，选择与城池同归于尽。
After being surrounded, the enemy chose to perish together with the city.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 同归于尽
- Pinyin: tóng guī yú jìn
- Literal Translation: together, return, at, end
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4