声东击西 — “Sound the east, strike the west”
声东击西 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to create a diversion by making a show of attacking one place while actually attacking another; a feint to achieve a surprise attack”. Literally, “Sound the east, strike the west”.
声东击西 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 声shēng
- 东dōng
- 击jī
- 西xī
声东击西 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 声东击西
Origin and Story of 声东击西
During the Chu-Han Contention, Liu Bang sent his general Han Xin to attack Wei Wang Bao, who had pledged allegiance to Xiang Yu. Wei Wang Bao appointed Bo Zhi as his general to lead troops stationed at Puban, on the eastern bank of the Yellow River, effectively blocking the crossing.
Han Xin observed that Puban was a strategically strong position, difficult to assault directly. He then made a grand show of preparing his troops for a forceful crossing at Puban, creating the impression that he would attack there.
However, under the cover of this elaborate feint, Han Xin secretly led his main forces to cross the river at Xiayang, further west. From Xiayang, his army marched swiftly to Anyi, where they launched a surprise attack and annihilated the majority of Wei Wang Bao's forces.
This clever use of misdirection and deception to achieve victory is the origin of the idiom "声东击西".
Idioms Related to 声东击西
Antonyms of 声东击西
More idioms starting with 声
- shēng声jià价bèi倍zēng增reputation and social standing greatly increase
- shēng声jià价shí十bèi倍reputation increases tenfold
- shēng声jià价bǎi百bèi倍reputation greatly enhanced
- shēng声rù入xīn心tōng通deeply comprehend profound meaning upon hearing
- shēng声dòng动liáng梁chén尘remarkably resonant and powerful singing voice
- shēng声shì势xiōng汹xiōng汹with great momentum and ferocity
- shēng声shì势hào浩dà大Grand and powerful in momentum or scale
- shēng声shì势xuǎn烜hè赫formidable reputation and grand influence
- shēng声shì势xūn熏zhuó灼formidable and overwhelming power and influence
- shēng声shì势hè赫yì奕Grand and imposing in power
- shēng声huá华xíng行shí实illustrious reputation, humble conduct
- shēng声míng名dà大zào噪become widely famous
Questions about 声东击西
- What does 声东击西 mean?
- 声东击西 (shēng dōng jī xī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to create a diversion by making a show of attacking one place while actually attacking another; a feint to achieve a surprise attack”.
- How do you pronounce 声东击西?
- 声东击西 is pronounced shēng dōng jī xī in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 声东击西 literally mean?
- Literally, 声东击西 means “Sound the east, strike the west”. It is used to mean “to create a diversion by making a show of attacking one place while actually attacking another; a feint to achieve a surprise attack”.
- Where does 声东击西 come from?
- 声东击西 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 声东击西?
- 声：声张。指造成要攻打东边的声势，实际上却攻打西边。是使对方产生错觉以出奇制胜的一种战术。