📖 Meaning
To pull oneself free of a bad situation and voluntarily come over to the side of what is right. It describes an enemy or opposing person abandoning their side and defecting to join the righteous cause.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from the Biography of Li Ji in the New Book of Tang (《新唐书·李勣传》). Li Ji was a famed general who first served under Li Mi of the Wagang rebel army during the collapse of the Sui dynasty. After Li Mi's defeat, Li Ji 'extricated himself and returned' (自拔以归) to the Tang camp. He then followed the Prince of Qin, Li Shimin, in the attack on the Eastern Capital Luoyang and earned merit in battle. The phrase gradually became the idiom 自拔来归 to denote defecting from a bad side to a good one.
💡 Example Usage
抗日战争时期，不少伪军士兵自拔来归，加入了抗日队伍。
During the War of Resistance against Japan, quite a few puppet-army soldiers extricated themselves and came over to join the anti-Japanese ranks.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 自拔来归
- Pinyin: zì bá lái guī
- Literal Translation: self, extricate, come, submit
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4