📖 Meaning
To throw a stone at an egg. It describes an overwhelmingly superior force attacking a weaker opponent, making victory absolutely certain. The metaphor emphasizes the total asymmetry of power between the two sides.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' (Chapter on Strategic Power), where he compares the impact of a military strike to smashing an egg with a heavy stone, illustrating the principle of attacking the solid with the insubstantial. The Jin dynasty historian's biography of Wen Qiao records him using this exact imagery, declaring that the current campaign would be as effortless as throwing stones at eggs. Over centuries, the expression became a standard metaphor for an unstoppable force meeting no meaningful resistance.
💡 Example Usage
敌军已是强弩之末，我军此时出击，无异于以石投卵。
The enemy army is already on its last legs; if our forces strike now, it will be like throwing stones at eggs.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 以石投卵
- Pinyin: yǐ shí tóu luǎn
- Literal Translation: use, stone, throw, egg
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4