How do you pronounce 釜底抽薪?

釜底抽薪 is pronounced fǔ dǐ chōu xīn in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 釜底抽薪 literally mean?

Literally, 釜底抽薪 means “to take out the burning wood from under the cauldron”. It is used to mean “to take a fundamental approach to solving a problem”.

Where does 釜底抽薪 come from?

釜底抽薪 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 釜底抽薪?

釜：古代的一种锅；薪：柴。把柴火从锅底抽掉。比喻从根本上解决问题。

釜底抽薪 — “To take a fundamental approach to solving a problem”

釜底抽薪 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take a fundamental approach to solving a problem”. To remove the cause of trouble; to tackle an issue at its root. Literally, “To take out the burning wood from under the cauldron”.

Frequency

釜底抽薪 Pronunciation and Pinyin

釜fǔ
底dǐ
抽chōu
薪xīn

釜底抽薪 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
釜	fǔ	10	ancient cooking pot
底	dǐ	8	bottom; base; background
抽	chōu	8	draw out, extract, twitch
薪	xīn	16	Firewood for passing on tradition

Example Sentence with 釜底抽薪

要彻底解决水源污染问题，必须釜底抽薪，从源头抓起，加强对工业废水的管理。

To thoroughly solve the problem of water source pollution, we must draw the firewood from under the cauldron, starting from the source and strengthening the management of industrial wastewater.

Origin and Story of 釜底抽薪

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Hou Jing, a general of the Eastern Wei, rebelled against the imperial court. After his defeat, he sought refuge with Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, in the Southern Liang dynasty.

Xiao Yan sent troops to assist him, but Hou Jing's attack on the Eastern Wei failed.

Wei Shou of the Eastern Wei then wrote to Xiao Yan, advising him that for someone like Hou Jing, one should 'draw the firewood from under the pot to stop the boiling, and cut the weeds to remove their roots,' suggesting a fundamental solution.

However, Xiao Yan did not heed this advice, and Hou Jing later betrayed the Liang dynasty as well.

Idioms Related to 釜底抽薪

Synonyms of 釜底抽薪

chōu抽xīn薪zhǐ止fèi沸remove the cause to stop the problem

Antonyms of 釜底抽薪

huǒ火shàng上jiāo浇yóu油aggravate a situation

More idioms starting with 釜

Questions about 釜底抽薪

What does 釜底抽薪 mean?: 釜底抽薪 (fǔ dǐ chōu xīn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to take a fundamental approach to solving a problem”.
How do you pronounce 釜底抽薪?: 釜底抽薪 is pronounced fǔ dǐ chōu xīn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 釜底抽薪 literally mean?: Literally, 釜底抽薪 means “to take out the burning wood from under the cauldron”. It is used to mean “to take a fundamental approach to solving a problem”.
Where does 釜底抽薪 come from?: 釜底抽薪 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 釜底抽薪?: 釜：古代的一种锅；薪：柴。把柴火从锅底抽掉。比喻从根本上解决问题。

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