纵虎归山 — “To release a tiger back into the mountains”
纵虎归山 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to let a dangerous person or thing go free, thereby creating future trouble; to allow an enemy to escape and pose a threat later”. Literally, “To release a tiger back into the mountains”.
纵虎归山 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 纵zòng
- 虎hǔ
- 归guī
- 山shān
纵虎归山 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 纵虎归山
Origin and Story of 纵虎归山
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, finding himself in a difficult situation, sought refuge with Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's strategist, Cheng Yu, knew that Liu Bei was no ordinary person and advised Cao Cao to eliminate him as soon as possible.
To allay Cao Cao's suspicions, Liu Bei pretended to be interested only in gardening and not in politics.
After Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu, Liu Bei requested to lead troops to attack Yuan Shu. Cao Cao granted him 50,000 soldiers.
Liu Bei then left Cao Cao and established his own banner.
Idioms Related to 纵虎归山
Synonyms of 纵虎归山
Antonyms of 纵虎归山
More idioms starting with 纵
- zòng纵bīng兵zhuī追jī击dispatch troops to pursue and attack
- zòng纵hè壑zhī之yú鱼a fish in its element
- zòng纵qíng情zì恣yù欲indulge in one's desires
- zòng纵qíng情huān欢lè乐indulge in unrestrained joy
- zòng纵qíng情suì遂yù欲indulge passions and desires
- zòng纵qíng情jiǔ酒sè色indulge in wine and women
- zòng纵qǔ曲wǎng枉zhí直condone wrongdoer and punish upright
- zòng纵héng横jiāo交guàn贯crisscrossing and interwoven
- zòng纵héng横jiāo交cuò错crisscrossing and interwoven
- zòng纵héng横jué决dàng荡charge and break through boldly
- zòng纵héng横sì四hǎi海travel the world freely
- zòng纵héng横tiān天xià下travel or dominate freely across the land
Questions about 纵虎归山
- What does 纵虎归山 mean?
- 纵虎归山 (zòng hǔ guī shān) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to let a dangerous person or thing go free, thereby creating future trouble; to allow an enemy to escape and pose a threat later”.
- How do you pronounce 纵虎归山?
- 纵虎归山 is pronounced zòng hǔ guī shān in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 纵虎归山 literally mean?
- Literally, 纵虎归山 means “to release a tiger back into the mountains”. It is used to mean “to let a dangerous person or thing go free, thereby creating future trouble; to allow an enemy to escape and pose a threat later”.
- Where does 纵虎归山 come from?
- 纵虎归山 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 纵虎归山?
- 把老虎放回山去。比喻把坏人放回老巢，留下祸根。