📖 Meaning
A metaphor for taking advantage of someone's misfortune to harm them further. It describes the act of kicking someone who is already down, adding injury to an already dire situation. The idiom condemns such opportunistic cruelty as deeply immoral.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the more common expression '落井下石' (dropping stones into a well). The imagery evokes the heartless act of pelting stones at a person who has already fallen into a well, making their escape or survival even harder. While no specific historical source is recorded for this exact phrasing, the concept was famously articulated by the Tang Dynasty scholar Han Yu (韩愈) in his 'Epitaph for Liu Zihou' (柳子厚墓志铭), where he condemned those who 'drop stones on someone who has fallen into a trap' (落陷阱, 不一引手救, 反挤之, 又下石焉). The idiom has since become a sharp moral indictment of piling on when someone is vulnerable.
💡 Example Usage
朋友落难时他不但不伸手，反而投石下井，令人心寒。
When his friend was in trouble, not only did he refuse to lend a hand, but he threw stones down the well — a truly chilling act.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 投石下井
- Pinyin: tóu shí xià jǐng
- Literal Translation: throw, stone, down, well
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4