人仰马翻 rén yǎng mǎ fān people and horses thrown down

Explanation

形容被打得惨败，溃不成军，也比喻乱得一塌糊涂，不可收拾。

Describes a devastating defeat, a complete rout, but also a total chaos and the impossibility of managing the situation.

Origin Story

话说当年，曹操率领大军征讨张绣，原本胜券在握，却不想中了张绣的埋伏，一时之间，人仰马翻，士兵溃不成军，曹操身边仅剩数十骑兵，狼狈逃窜。此役之后，曹操元气大伤，不得不暂时放弃了征讨计划。此次战役也成为了历史上著名的以少胜多的战例之一。张绣凭借着对地形的熟悉和巧妙的战术，以极少的兵力，打得曹军人仰马翻，彻底粉碎了曹操的计划，也为后世留下了深刻的教训：兵法之中，知己知彼，才能百战不殆。

huà shuō dāng nián, cáo cāo shuǎi lǐng dà jūn zhēng tǎo zhāng xiù, yuán běn shèng quàn zài wò, què bù xiǎng zhōng le zhāng xiù de mái fú, yī shí zhī jiān, rén yǎng mǎ fān, bīng shì kuì bù chéng jūn, cáo cāo shēn biān jǐn shèng shù shí qí bīng, láng bèi táo cuàn. cǐ yì zhī hòu, cáo cāo yuán qì dà shāng, bù dé bù zàn shí fàng qì le zhēng tǎo jì huà. cǐ cì zhàn yì yě chéng le le lì shǐ shàng zhù míng de yǐ shǎo shèng duō de zhàn lì zhī yī. zhāng xiù píng jiè zhe duì dì xíng de shú xī hé qiǎo miào de zhàn shù, yǐ jí shǎo de bīng lì, dǎ de cáo jūn rén yǎng mǎ fān, chè dǐ fěn suì le cáo cāo de jì huà, yě wèi hòu shì liú xià le shēn kè de jiào xùn: bīng fǎ zhī zhōng, zhī jǐ zhī bǐ, cái néng bǎi zhàn bù dài.

It is said that Cao Cao once led a large army to conquer Zhang Xiu. He was originally confident of victory, but unexpectedly fell into an ambush by Zhang Xiu. For a moment, people and horses were overthrown, soldiers were defeated, and Cao Cao only had dozens of cavalry left, fleeing in a state of embarrassment. After this battle, Cao Cao was greatly weakened and had to temporarily abandon his conquest plan. This battle also became one of the famous examples in history of a smaller force defeating a larger one. Zhang Xiu, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and clever tactics, used a very small force to defeat Cao's army, completely crushing Cao Cao's plan, and leaving a profound lesson for posterity: in military strategy, knowing yourself and your opponent is essential to winning a hundred battles.

Usage

常用作谓语、定语、补语；形容惨败或混乱不堪。

cháng yòng zuò wèi yǔ, dìng yǔ, bǔ yǔ; xiáoróng cǎn bài huò hùn luàn bù kān

Often used as predicate, attributive, or predicative; describes a devastating defeat or unbearable chaos.

Examples

• 战况激烈，人仰马翻。

  zhàn kuàng jīliè, rén yǎng mǎ fān

  The battle was fierce, and people and horses were thrown down.

• 战场上人仰马翻，一片混乱。

  zhàn chǎng shàng rén yǎng mǎ fān, yī piàn hùn luàn

  The battlefield was in chaos, a scene of chaos.

Related Idioms

• 落花流水

• 溃不成军

Opposite Idioms

• 人强马壮