📖 Meaning
The idiom describes tipping over a bottle of water from a rooftop so it pours straight down, conveying an overwhelming advantage gained from a commanding height. It is used to describe a favorable situation where one holds the high ground, whether physically, strategically, or metaphorically. It is also written as 高屋建瓴.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom has no recorded origin and is a variant of the more common 高屋建瓴 (pouring water from atop a tall building). The underlying image is traditionally traced to the Han dynasty's Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), in the biography of Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang). There, the minister Tian Ken praised the strategic terrain of the Guanzhong region, saying it was like pouring water from a high roof—an overwhelming height advantage. From this imagery, the idiom came to describe any dominant, commanding position or situation.
💡 Example Usage
我军占据高地，屋上建瓴般向敌军发起攻势。
Our army seized the high ground and launched its attack on the enemy from a commanding height, like pouring water from a rooftop.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 屋上建瓴
- Pinyin: wū shàng jiàn líng
- Literal Translation: on the rooftop, pour, water jar
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4