犹解倒悬 — “To rescue people from an extremely perilous situation”

犹解倒悬 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to rescue people from an extremely perilous situation”. To deliver people from great distress. Literally, “As if rescuing from hanging upside down”.

Frequency

犹解倒悬 Pronunciation and Pinyin

犹解倒悬 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
犹	yóu	7	still, yet, or like
解	jiě	13	untie, explain, or solve
倒	dào	10	fall, pour, invert, reverse
悬	xuán	11	hang, suspend

Example Sentence with 犹解倒悬

洪水过后，救援队伍的及时到来，对那些受困的居民来说，无异于犹解倒悬

After the flood, the timely arrival of the rescue teams was tantamount to saving the trapped residents from an extremely perilous situation.

Origin and Story of 犹解倒悬

During the Warring States period, Gongsun Chou of the Qi state consulted Mencius about the art of governance, hoping that Mencius would take office in Qi, perhaps even surpassing the achievements of Guan Zhong and Yan Zi.

Mencius analyzed the situation in Qi and expressed his hope that King Xuan of Qi would implement benevolent governance (仁政). This would allow people suffering from continuous warfare to rest and recover, making it easy for the hungry to find food and the thirsty to find drink.

The people would feel that such benevolent rule was like being saved from being hung upside down, a metaphor for being rescued from an extremely dire situation.