📖 Meaning
Literally means to push the waves and stir up billows. It is used metaphorically to describe abetting evil deeds, fanning emotions, and deliberately stirring up trouble or incidents. The phrase conveys a negative connotation of someone who inflames situations rather than calming them.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom does not trace to a specific classical text or historical anecdote. It is a later-formed expression built from the vivid imagery of the sea, where one pushes the waves and raises the swell. Over time it came to be used figuratively for those who fan the flames of trouble and abet wrongdoing.
💡 Example Usage
他不仅不劝阻，反而推涛作浪，让事情变得更糟。
Instead of dissuading them, he fanned the flames and made things worse.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 推涛作浪
- Pinyin: tuī tāo zuò làng
- Literal Translation: push, wave, make, billow
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4