📖 Meaning
To use the wind to fan a fire, making it burn even stronger. Metaphorically, it describes someone who deliberately stirs up trouble or instigates conflict between others, often while staying out of the fray themselves.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom first appears in the Song dynasty text 'Record of the Transmission of the Lamp' (《景德传灯录》), compiled by the monk Shi Daoyuan in 1004 CE. In Volume 13, a Chan Buddhist master remarks that 'when the wind blows the fire, little effort is needed' — a Zen teaching about leveraging natural forces. The phrase later evolved into a secular idiom describing a person who manipulates situations to inflame existing tensions, much like wind turning a small spark into a raging blaze.
💡 Example Usage
他总在背后引风吹火，挑拨同事之间的关系。
He is always fanning the flames behind the scenes, stirring up tensions among his colleagues.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 引风吹火
- Pinyin: yǐn fēng chuī huǒ
- Literal Translation: draw, wind, blow, fire
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4