📖 Meaning
To help a bad person do evil things. It is a metaphor for aiding villains or wicked people in committing wrongdoing, thereby sharing responsibility for their harmful actions. The phrase carries strong moral condemnation toward those who assist wrongdoers.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Records of the Grand Historian (史记·留侯世家), in a passage about Zhang Liang advising Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty. After Liu Bang captured the Qin capital of Xianyang, he was tempted to indulge in its luxurious palaces and entertainments. Zhang Liang warned him that immediately enjoying such pleasures after overthrowing the Qin would be like 'helping Jie (a tyrant of the Xia dynasty) commit atrocities.' The original text used 桀 (Jie), but over time it was replaced with 纣 (Zhou, the notorious last king of the Shang dynasty), both infamous for their cruelty, giving us the modern form 助纣为虐.
💡 Example Usage
他替贪官销毁证据，简直是助纣为虐。
He helped the corrupt official destroy evidence, which was essentially aiding a villain in doing evil.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 助纣为虐
- Pinyin: zhù zhòu wéi nüè
- Literal Translation: help, Zhou (tyrant), do, cruelty
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4