变本加厉 biàn běn jiā lì to go from bad to worse

Explanation

比原来更加严重或猛烈。

Worse or more intense than before.

Origin Story

南朝梁武帝萧衍的长子萧统编撰我国最早的文学总集《文选》，收录从周代到六朝的文学作品，成为当时知识分子必修课本。他认为文学作品是社会生活的反映与升华，犹如冰是水凝成，但它又变本加厉，比水冷得多一样。这并非说文学比生活更冷酷，而是说艺术升华后的作品，经过提炼、加工和艺术再创作，其表现力往往比现实生活更强烈，更深刻，更具艺术感染力。例如，现实生活中的一件小事，经过艺术家的加工，可以变成一个感人肺腑的故事；生活中的一句俗语，经过文人的润饰，可以变成闪光的诗句。这就是艺术的魅力所在，也是艺术变本加厉的一种表现。

nán cháo liáng wǔ dì xiāo yǎn de zhǎng nán xiāo tòng biān zhuàn zhōng guó zuì gǔ de wén xué zǒng jí 《wén xuǎn》，shōu lù cóng zhōu dài dào liù cháo de wén xué zuò pǐn，chéng wéi dāng shí zhī shì fèn zǐ bì xiū jiàokē shū。tā rèn wéi wén xué zuò pǐn shì shè huì shēng huó de fǎnyìng yǔ shēng huá，yóu rú bīng shì shuǐ níng chéng，dàn tā yòu biàn běn jiā lì，bǐ shuǐ lěng de duō yī yàng。zhè bìng fēi shuō wén xué bǐ shēng huó gèng lěng kù，ér shì shuō yìshù shēng huá hòu de zuò pǐn，jīng guò tí liàn、jiā gōng hé yìshù zài chuàng zuò，qí biǎo xiàn lì wǎng wǎng bǐ xiàn shí shēng huó gèng qiáng liè，gèng shēn kè，gèng jù yìshù gǎn rǎn lì。lì rú，xiàn shí shēng huó zhōng de yī jiàn xiǎo shì，jīng guò yìshù jiā de jiā gōng，kě yǐ biàn chéng yī gè gǎn rén fèi fǔ de gù shì；shēng huó zhōng de yī jù sú yǔ，jīng guò wén rén de rùn shì，kě yǐ biàn chéng shǎn guāng de shī jù。zhè jiùshì yìshù de mèilì suǒ zài，yě shì yìshù biàn běn jiā lì de yī zhǒng biǎo xiàn。

Xiao Tong, the eldest son of Emperor Xiao Yan of the Southern Liang Dynasty, compiled China's earliest literary anthology, "Wen Xuan," which includes literary works from the Zhou Dynasty to the Six Dynasties and became a required textbook for intellectuals at that time. He believed that literary works are the reflection and sublimation of social life, just like ice is formed from water, but it is also "bian ben jia li," much colder than water. This does not mean that literature is crueler than life, but rather that the works after artistic refinement, through refinement, processing, and artistic recreation, often have a stronger, deeper, and more artistic appeal than real life. For example, a small thing in real life, after being processed by an artist, can become a touching story; a common saying in life, after being refined by a literati, can become a shining poem. This is the charm of art, and also a manifestation of "bian ben jia li".

Usage

形容情况比原来更加严重或恶劣。

xiáoróng qíngkuàng bǐ yuánlái gèngjiā yánzhòng huò èliè。

To describe a situation that has become worse or more severe than before.

Examples

• 他犯了错误不仅不悔改，反而变本加厉，真是令人气愤！

  tā fàn le cuòwù bù jǐn bù huǐgǎi, fǎn'ér biàn běn jiā lì, zhēnshi lìng rén qìfèn！

  He not only didn't repent for his mistakes, but also intensified them, which is really infuriating!

• 面对敌人的进攻，他们并没有退缩，反而变本加厉地反击。

  miàn duì dírén de jìngōng, tāmen bìng méiyǒu tuìsuō, fǎn'ér biàn běn jiā lì de fǎnjī。

  In the face of the enemy's attack, they did not retreat but counterattacked even more fiercely.

Related Idioms

• 变本加厉

• 升级

Opposite Idioms

• 改过自新

• 亡羊补牢