化整为零 huà zhěng wéi líng divide and conquer

Explanation

把一个整体分解成许多小的、分散的部分。常用于军事、工作等方面,比喻采取灵活多变的策略。

To break a whole into many small, dispersed parts. Often used in military and work contexts, it describes a flexible and versatile strategy.

Origin Story

话说当年抗日战争时期,八路军在敌后作战,面对装备精良的日军,他们并没有与之正面硬碰硬,而是采取了化整为零的战术。八路军将大的作战单位分解成许多小的游击队,神出鬼没地出现在敌人的后方,袭扰敌人的交通线,破坏敌人的后勤补给,有效地牵制了日军的兵力,最终为抗日战争的胜利做出了巨大贡献。

huàshuō dāngnián kàngrì zhànzhēng shíqī, bā lù jūn zài dí hòu zuòzhàn, miàn duì zhuāngbèi jīngliáng de rìjūn, tāmen bìng méiyǒu yǔ zhī zhèngmiàn yìng pèng yìng, érshì cǎiqǔ le huà zhěng wéi líng de zànshù. bā lù jūn jiāng dà de zuòzhàn dānwèi fēnjiě chéng xǔ duō xiǎo de yóujī duì, shén chū guǐ mò de chūxiàn zài dírén de hòufāng, xí rǎo dírén de jiāotōng xiàn, pòhuài dírén de hòuqín bǔjǐ, yǒuxiào de qiānzhì le rìjūn de bīnglì, zuìzhōng wèi kàngrì zhànzhēng de shènglì zuò chū le jùdà gòngxiàn.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army fighting behind enemy lines, faced with well-equipped Japanese troops, instead of engaging in head-on conflict, they adopted the tactic of “dividing into small units”. The large combat units were broken down into many small guerrilla squads, appearing unexpectedly in the enemy’s rear, harassing their lines of communication, disrupting their logistical supply, effectively tying up the Japanese forces and making a huge contribution to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.

Usage

用于形容把一个整体分解成许多小的,分散的部分,常用于军事、工作等方面。

yòng yú xíngróng bǎ yīgè zhěngtǐ fēnjiě chéng xǔ duō xiǎo de, fēnsàn de bùfen, cháng yòng yú jūnshì, gōngzuò děng fāngmiàn.

Used to describe breaking a whole into many small, dispersed parts, often used in military and work contexts.

Examples

  • 面对强大的敌人,我军采取化整为零的战术,各个击破。

    miàn duì qiáng dà de dìrén, wǒ jūn cǎiqǔ huà zhěng wéi líng de zànshù, gè gè jī pò.

    Faced with a powerful enemy, our army adopted the tactic of dividing its forces into small units and defeating them one by one.

  • 为了完成任务,我们把工作化整为零,分头进行。

    wèile wánchéng rènwù, wǒmen bǎ gōngzuò huà zhěng wéi líng, fēn tóu jìnxíng

    To accomplish the task, we broke down the work into smaller parts and worked on them separately.