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During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ling of Jin, indulging in his own pleasures, ordered the construction of a magnificent nine-story tower.
After three years, the tower remained unfinished, causing widespread suffering among the populace. Furthermore, Duke Ling prohibited his officials from offering any remonstrance.
Xun Xi, a wise official, devised a clever plan.
In front of Duke Ling, he first stacked twelve chess pieces one on top of another, and then meticulously piled nine eggs on top of the chess pieces.
Inevitably, the stacked eggs soon toppled and shattered. Understanding the profound metaphor, Duke Ling immediately ordered the cessation of the construction.

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Open the tool →累卵之危 (lěi luǎn zhī wēi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an extremely perilous or precarious situation”.
累卵之危 is pronounced lěi luǎn zhī wēi in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 累卵之危 means “Danger of stacked eggs”. It is used to mean “an extremely perilous or precarious situation”.
累卵之危 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
累:堆积。好比堆叠起来的蛋,极容易打碎。比喻情况极其危险。