📖 Meaning
Literally 'placing a head on top of a head.' It is a metaphor for doing something wholly redundant or superfluous — adding what is already complete and sufficient. The phrase is used to criticize actions, words, or additions that merely duplicate what already exists.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Song Dynasty and appears in two notable sources. The Buddhist text 《景德传灯录》 (Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp) by the monk 释道原 pairs the image with '雪上加霜' (frost upon snow) to stress compounding redundancy. The poet and calligrapher 黄庭坚 later used it in his 《拙轩颂》, coupling it with '屋下盖屋' (building a roof beneath a roof) to mock those who pile effort upon what is already finished — where the clever have surplus and the clumsy fall short.
💡 Example Usage
这篇文章的观点已经说得很清楚了，再补充一段反而是头上安头。
The viewpoint of this essay is already perfectly clear; adding another paragraph would just be putting a head on top of a head.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 头上安头
- Pinyin: tóu shàng ān tóu
- Literal Translation: head, on top, place, head
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4