📖 Meaning
A military strategy of conserving one's own strength and resting while waiting for the enemy to become worn out from marching or fighting, then striking decisively to win. It emphasizes using patience and a defensive posture to turn the enemy's fatigue into one's own advantage.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the 'Biography of Geng Yi' in the Book of Jin (《晋书·庚翼传》). Geng Yi, a general and official of the Eastern Jin dynasty, proposed a long-term strategy against rival states. He advised 'holding the reins long' — exercising patience — and 'using ease to await exhaustion,' arguing that within a few years the empire could be restored. The phrase is a variant of the more common Classical Chinese military maxim '以逸待劳,' which appears in Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
💡 Example Usage
我军用逸待劳，趁敌军疲惫一举反击。
Our army used ease to await exhaustion, launching a decisive counterattack once the enemy troops were worn out.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 用逸待劳
- Pinyin: yòng yì dài láo
- Literal Translation: use, ease, await, exhaustion
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4