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.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
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."