剥茧抽丝 bō jiǎn chōu sī unraveling

Explanation

比喻根据事物的顺序，逐步寻求事物发展变化的线索和规律。

It means to gradually seek the clues and laws of the development and change of things according to their order.

Origin Story

一位年轻的侦探接到一个棘手的案子：一桩发生在古老寺庙里的离奇失窃案。寺庙内珍藏的佛像失窃，现场没有留下任何明显的痕迹，只有几根细细的丝线散落在案发现场。经验丰富的侦探老张接手后，并没有被现场的混乱所迷惑，他仔细观察着这些不起眼的丝线，他发现丝线颜色和质地各不相同，并且有明显的方向性。他沿着丝线的方向一路追查，先是发现了寺庙后院一个破旧的木箱，里面装着一些被寺庙保管的古董文物，这些文物与丢失的佛像有着千丝万缕的联系；然后他又在寺庙附近的树林里发现了一件被遗弃的僧袍，僧袍上沾有泥土和少许佛像的碎片；最后，通过对僧袍的仔细检查，他发现了一张破损的信笺，上面隐约写着寺庙一个名叫阿元的僧人的名字和地址。阿元是寺庙里资历较浅的僧人，平时沉默寡言，很少与外界接触，侦探很快便锁定了他。通过层层抽丝剥茧，侦探最终找到了盗窃佛像的真凶—阿元，并找到了被藏匿的佛像。

yīwèi niánqīng de zhēntàn jiēdào yīgè jíshǒu de ànzi: yī zhuāng fāshēng zài gǔlǎo sìmiào lǐ de líqí shīqiè àn. sìmiào nèi zhēn cáng de fóxiàng shīqiè, xiànchǎng méiyǒu liúxià rènhé míngxiǎn de hénjī, zhǐyǒu jǐ gēn xìxì de sīxiàn sànluò zài ànfāxiànchǎng. jīngyàn fēngfù de zhēntàn lǎozhāng jiēshǒu hòu, bìng méiyǒu bèi xiànchǎng de hùnluàn suǒ móhuì, tā zǐxì guānccházhe zhèxiē bùqǐyǎn de sīxiàn, tā fāxiàn sīxiàn yánsè hé zhìdì gè bù tóng, bìngqiě yǒu míngxiǎn de fāngxiàngxìng. tā yánzhe sīxiàn de fāngxiàng yīlù zhuīchá, xiān shì fāxiànle sìmiàohòuyuan yīgè pòjiù de mùxiāng, lǐmiàn zhuāngzhe yīxiē bèi sìmiào bǎoguǎn de gǔdǒng wénwù, zhèxiē wénwù yǔ diūshī de fóxiàng yǒuzhe qiānsīwànlǚ de liánxì; ránhòu tā yòu zài sìmiào fùjìn de shùlín lǐ fāxiànle yī jiàn bèi yíqì de sēngpáo, sēngpáo shàng zhānyǒu nítǔ hé shǎoxǔ fóxiàng de suìpiàn; zuìhòu, tōngguò duì sēngpáo de zǐxì jiǎnchá, tā fāxiànle yī zhāng pò sǔn de xìnjiān, shàngmiàn yǐnyuē xiězhe sìmiào yīgè míng jiào āyuán de sēngrén de míngzi hé dìzhǐ. āyuán shì sìmiào lǐ zīlì jiào qiǎn de sēngrén, píngshí chénmò guǎyán, hěn shǎo yǔ wàijiè jiēchù, zhēntàn hěn kuài biàn suǒdìngle tā. tōngguò céng céng chōusībōjiǎn, zhēntàn zuìzhōng zhǎodàole dàotiè fóxiàng de zhēnxiōng—āyuán, bìng zhǎodàole bèi cángnì de fóxiàng.

A young detective receives a difficult case: a strange theft that occurred in an ancient temple. A precious Buddha statue was stolen without any obvious traces left at the scene, except a few thin threads scattered around. The experienced detective, Lao Zhang, takes over the case and observes these inconspicuous threads. He finds that the threads are different in color and texture, and have a clear direction. Following the threads, he first discovers an old wooden box in the temple's backyard. It contains some ancient artifacts kept by the temple that are closely related to the missing statue. Then he discovers an abandoned monk's robe in a nearby forest. The robe has dirt and some fragments of the statue. Finally, by carefully examining the robe, he finds a torn note with the name and address of a monk named A Yuan. A Yuan is a less experienced monk in the temple; quiet and taciturn, he has little contact with the outside world. The detective quickly locks his sights on him. Through layer by layer investigation, the detective finally found the real culprit of the Buddha statue theft, A Yuan, and the statue.

Usage

用于比喻根据事物发展的规律，逐步探求事理。

yòngyú bǐyù gēnjù shìwù fāzhǎn de guīlǜ, zhúbù tànqiú shìlǐ

Used to illustrate the gradual exploration of things according to the laws of their development.

Examples

• 侦探抽丝剥茧地破案。

  zhentancousībōjiǎndì pòàn

  The detective solved the case by meticulously investigating.

• 历史学家通过大量史料，剥茧抽丝，终于弄清了事情的真相。

  lìshǐjiā tōngguò dàliàng shǐliào, bōjiǎnchōusī, zhōngyú nòngqīngle shìqing de zhēnxiàng

  The historian, by sifting through many historical materials, gradually uncovered the truth of the matter

Related Idioms

• 抽丝剥茧

• 寻根究底

• 顺藤摸瓜

Opposite Idioms

• 颠倒黑白

• 本末倒置