矫枉过正 — “To overcorrect”
矫枉过正 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to overcorrect”. To go too far in righting a wrong, resulting in a new error; to straighten a crooked thing only to bend it too far the other way. Literally, “Straighten the bent excessively”.
矫枉过正 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 矫jiǎo
- 枉wǎng
- 过guò
- 正zhèng
矫枉过正 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 矫枉过正
Origin and Story of 矫枉过正
Emperor Jing of Han feared that the power of the feudal lords would become too great, leading them to declare themselves kings and create a situation where the central government could not control the local powers. This was a concern about an overcorrection towards decentralization. Therefore, he adopted Chao Cuo's advice and used various pretexts to reduce the territories of several feudal lords.
However, Liu Pi, the King of Wu, used the excuse of "purging evil ministers from the emperor's side" to rebel. This rebellion forced Emperor Jing to execute Chao Cuo, ultimately leading to the historical "Rebellion of the Seven States."
Idioms Related to 矫枉过正
Synonyms of 矫枉过正
More idioms starting with 矫
- jiǎo矫shì世lì励sú俗Rectify social trends and encourage good customs
- jiǎo矫shì世lì厉sú俗rectify social customs and promote integrity
- jiǎo矫shì世biàn变sú俗correct and transform undesirable social customs
- jiǎo矫guó国gēng更sú俗rectify affairs and reform customs
- jiǎo矫guó国gé革sú俗rectify governance and reform customs
- jiǎo矫wěi尾lì厉jiǎo角show off strength and act arrogantly
- jiǎo矫qíng情gān干yù誉feign sentiment for reputation
- jiáo矫qing情zì自shì饰feign elegance to mask true self
- jiǎo矫qíng情zhèn镇wù物feign composure to hide true emotions
- jiáo矫qing情shì饰wěi伪feign emotion and disguise falseness
- jiǎo矫qíng情shì饰xíng行feign emotion and adorn behavior
- jiǎo矫qíng情shì饰zhà诈feign sincerity to deceive
Questions about 矫枉过正
- What does 矫枉过正 mean?
- 矫枉过正 (jiǎo wǎng guò zhèng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to overcorrect”.
- How do you pronounce 矫枉过正?
- 矫枉过正 is pronounced jiǎo wǎng guò zhèng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 矫枉过正 literally mean?
- Literally, 矫枉过正 means “Straighten the bent excessively”. It is used to mean “to overcorrect”.
- Where does 矫枉过正 come from?
- 矫枉过正 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 矫枉过正?
- 矫：扭转；枉：弯曲。把弯的东西扳正，又歪到了另一边。比喻纠正错误超过了应有的限度。