置之死地 — “Place them in a dead land”
置之死地 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to place someone in a desperate or perilous situation, often to compel them to fight with full vigor or find a solution; to put someone in a do-or-die situation”. Literally, “Place them in a dead land”.
置之死地 Pronunciation and Pinyin
置之死地 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 置之死地
Origin and Story of 置之死地
During the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang dispatched General Han Xin and Zhang Er to lead an army to attack the State of Zhao. King Liu Xie of Zhao and General Chen Yu, with a force of 200,000, met them at Jingxing Pass.
Chen Yu, disregarding the advice of his strategist Li Zuoche, decided to directly confront Han Xin.
Han Xin employed a clever strategy: he intentionally placed his troops in a 'do-or-die' situation by positioning them with their backs to a river. This 'back-to-the-river' tactic compelled the soldiers to fight with extreme courage and vigor.
Meanwhile, Han Xin dispatched another contingent to lightly seize the main Zhao army camp, successfully killing Chen Yu and capturing Liu Xie alive.
Idioms Related to 置之死地
More idioms starting with 置
- zhì置zhī之bù不lǐ理ignore and pay no attention
- zhì置zhī之bù不lùn论set aside and not discuss
- zhì置zhī之bù不wèn问leave it alone and ignore
- zhì置zhī之bù不gù顾to ignore or neglect
- zhì置zhī之dù度wài外disregard personal gains or dangers
- zhì置zhī之fú弗lùn论leave aside without discussion
- zhì置zhī之sǐ死dì地ér而hòu后yǐ已persecute until utter ruin or demise
- zhì置zhī之sǐ死dì地ér而hòu后kuài快to feel malicious pleasure at adversary's ruin
- zhì置zhī之sǐ死dì地ér而hòu后shēng生find a way out of a desperate situation
- zhì置zhī之nǎo脑hòu后put out of mind
- zhì置zhī之gāo高gé阁to shelve and leave unused
- zhì置yú于sǐ死dì地drive to a dead end
Recommended tools
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →Questions about 置之死地
What does 置之死地 mean?
置之死地 (zhì zhī sǐ dì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to place someone in a desperate or perilous situation, often to compel them to fight with full vigor or find a solution; to put someone in a do-or-die situation”.
How do you pronounce 置之死地?
置之死地 is pronounced zhì zhī sǐ dì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 置之死地 literally mean?
Literally, 置之死地 means “Place them in a dead land”. It is used to mean “to place someone in a desperate or perilous situation, often to compel them to fight with full vigor or find a solution; to put someone in a do-or-die situation”.
Where does 置之死地 come from?
置之死地 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 置之死地?
有意使人处于无法生存下去的境地。