📖 Meaning
To deliberately pretend to be defeated and retreat, in order to trick the enemy into letting down their guard or pursuing into a trap. It describes a tactical ruse where apparent weakness or loss is used to lure an opponent into a fatal mistake.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from Chapter 85 of Water Margin (《水浒传》), a Ming dynasty novel by Shi Nai'an. During the siege of the city, Lin Chong and Hua Rong held the suspension bridge and turned back to fight again, feigning defeat and retreat to lure Lu Junyi and his forces into charging into the city. Once the enemy was drawn inside, the troops behind them raised a great shout, and Song Jiang's forces inside rose up simultaneously to take them by surprise, capturing everyone. The phrase thus embodies a classic feigned-retreat ambush tactic.
💡 Example Usage
他诈败佯输，引敌军入埋伏圈，一举全歼。
He feigned defeat to lure the enemy into the ambush circle and annihilated them in one stroke.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 诈败佯输
- Pinyin: zhà bài yáng shū
- Literal Translation: feign, defeat, pretend, lose
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4