屋下架屋 — “To create redundant structures or content”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 屋下架屋?

比喻机构或文章结构重叠。

屋下架屋 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to create redundant structures or content”. To duplicate or imitate without originality, leading to unnecessary complexity or repetition. Literally, “Build a house under a house”.

Frequency

屋下架屋 Pronunciation and Pinyin

屋下架屋 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
屋	wū	9	house, room, building
下	xià	3	below, down, next, to descend
架	jià	9	frame, support, set up
屋	wū	9	house, room, building

Example Sentence with 屋下架屋

在项目规划中，我们必须避免屋下架屋，确保每一个环节都有其独特价值，而不是简单的重复。

In project planning, we must avoid building a house under a house, ensuring every step has its unique value rather than being mere repetition.

Origin and Story of 屋下架屋

During the Jin Dynasty, Yu Zhongchu composed "Ode to Yangdu" and presented it to Yu Liang. Yu Liang highly praised its value, claiming it could rival Zhang Heng's "Ode to the Two Capitals" and Zuo Si's "Ode to the Three Capitals." Consequently, everyone competed to copy it.

However, Grand Tutor Xie An thought the praise was excessive, stating that this was "building a house under a house" (屋下架屋), as the work merely imitated others everywhere, making its content utterly bland.