屈一伸万 — “Bend to one, extend over ten thousand”
屈一伸万 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to strategically humble oneself before one powerful individual in order to gain a position of authority or influence over many others; to be subservient to one while being superior to many”. Literally, “Bend to one, extend over ten thousand”.
屈一伸万 Pronunciation and Pinyin
屈一伸万 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 屈一伸万
Origin and Story of 屈一伸万
During the Spring and Autumn period, when Wu Zixu fled from the State of Chu to the State of Wu, he encountered Zhuan Zhu from Tangyi.
Zhuan Zhu was fighting a group of people, and his formidable presence was irresistible; his opponents were no match for him. However, when his wife called out, he immediately returned home.
Wu Zixu, finding this very strange, asked him why. Zhuan Zhu replied, "Do you think my demeanor resembles that of a fool, or a vulgar man? Indeed, to humble oneself before one person is to surely assert oneself above ten thousand."
Idioms Related to 屈一伸万
More idioms starting with 屈
- qū屈zūn尊jiù就bēi卑condescend to an inferior position
- qū屈dǎ打chéng成zhāo招tortured into a confession
- qū屈zhǐ指yī一suàn算to count on one's fingers
- qū屈zhǐ指kě可shǔ数can be counted on one's fingers
- qū屈zhǐ指ér而shù数very few, can be counted on fingers
- qū屈gǔ榖jù巨hù瓠impressive but useless
- qū屈xī膝qiú求hé和kneel and surrender for peace
- qū屈yàn艳bān班xiāng香eloquent and richly flavored literary works
- qū屈jié节bēi卑tǐ体humble oneself to curry favor
- qū屈jié节rǔ辱mìng命Compromise integrity and fail mission
- qū屈huò蠖qiú求shēn伸Bend to stretch; retreat to advance
- qū屈gǔ谷jù巨hù瓠useless but impressive-looking
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Open the tool →Questions about 屈一伸万
What does 屈一伸万 mean?
屈一伸万 (qū yī shēn wàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to strategically humble oneself before one powerful individual in order to gain a position of authority or influence over many others; to be subservient to one while being superior to many”.
How do you pronounce 屈一伸万?
屈一伸万 is pronounced qū yī shēn wàn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 屈一伸万 literally mean?
Literally, 屈一伸万 means “Bend to one, extend over ten thousand”. It is used to mean “to strategically humble oneself before one powerful individual in order to gain a position of authority or influence over many others; to be subservient to one while being superior to many”.
Where does 屈一伸万 come from?
屈一伸万 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 屈一伸万?
伸：展开。屈身一人之下，凌驾于万人之上