抱薪救火 bào xīn jiù huǒ put out a fire with firewood

Explanation

比喻用错误的方法去消除灾祸，结果使灾祸反而扩大。如同抱着柴草去救火，火势会越烧越旺。这个成语用来警示人们，解决问题要找准根源，不能盲目地采取措施，否则会适得其反。

This idiom is a metaphor for using the wrong method to eliminate a disaster, which results in the disaster being even greater. It's like trying to put out a fire with firewood, which will only make the fire burn more fiercely. This idiom is used to warn people that they need to find the root cause of the problem, instead of taking blind measures, otherwise it will be counterproductive.

Origin Story

战国时期，魏国多次受到秦国的进攻，魏安王四年，秦国打败了魏、赵、韩三国联军，魏国再次面临着巨大的危机。魏安王想用割地求和这种方法来解决问题，但大臣苏代却认为这样做无异于“抱薪救火”，最终只会让秦国更加得寸进尺。他建议魏王联合六国共同抗秦，才能真正地解决问题。然而，魏王最终还是没有听取苏代的建议，选择了“抱薪救火”的方式，结果魏国被秦国所灭。

zhàn guó shí qí, wèi guó duō cì shòu dào qín guó de jīng jī, wèi ān wáng sì nián, qín guó dǎ bài le wèi, zhào, hán sān guó lián jūn, wèi guó zài cì miàn lín zhe jù dà de wēi jī. wèi ān wáng xiǎng yòng gē dì qiú hé zhè zhǒng fāng fǎ lái jiě jué wèn tí, dàn dà chén sū dài què rèn wéi zhè yàng zuò wú yì yú “bào xīn jiù huǒ”, zuì zhōng zhǐ huì ràng qín guó gèng jiā de cùn jìn chǐ. tā jiàn yì wèi wáng lián hé liù guó gòng tóng kàng qín, cái néng zhēn zhèng de jiě jué wèn tí. rán ér, wèi wáng zuì zhōng hái shì méi yǒu tīng qǔ sū dài de jiàn yì, xuǎn zé le “bào xīn jiù huǒ” de fāng shì, jié guǒ wèi guó bèi qín guó suǒ miè.

During the Warring States Period, the state of Wei was repeatedly attacked by the state of Qin. In the fourth year of King An of Wei's reign, Qin defeated the combined armies of Wei, Zhao, and Han, and Wei faced a huge crisis again. King An of Wei wanted to solve the problem by ceding territory and negotiating peace, but the minister Su Dai argued that this was tantamount to „putting out a fire with wood“ and would ultimately only make Qin more demanding. He advised King An of Wei to unite with the six states to fight against Qin together, which could truly solve the problem. However, King An of Wei did not listen to Su Dai's advice in the end, and chose the method of „putting out a fire with wood“, resulting in the destruction of Wei by Qin.

Usage

形容采取错误的方法来解决问题，不仅不能解决问题，反而会让问题变得更严重。

xíng róng cǎi qǔ cuò wù de fāng fǎ lái jiě jué wèn tí, bù jǐn bù néng jiě jué wèn tí, fǎn ér huì ràng wèn tí biàn de gèng yán zhòng.

Describes using the wrong methods to solve a problem, which not only does not solve the problem, but also makes it worse.

Examples

• 试图用暴力来压制反抗，无异于抱薪救火，只会让局势更加恶化。

  shì tú yòng bào lì lái yā zhì fǎn kàng, wú yì yú bào xīn jiù huǒ, zhǐ huì ràng jú shì gèng jiā è huà.

  Trying to suppress resistance with violence is like trying to put out a fire with wood, it will only worsen the situation.

• 面对公司的财政危机，他采取了一些短视的措施，最终却落得个抱薪救火的结果。

  miàn duì gōng sī de cái zhèng wēi jī, tā cǎi qǔ le yī xiē duǎn shì de cuò shī, zuì zhōng què luò de gè bào xīn jiù huǒ de jié guǒ.

  In the face of the company's financial crisis, he took some short-sighted measures, and eventually he ended up with a result of putting out a fire with wood.

• 与其在问题发生后抱薪救火，不如提前做好预防工作。

  yǔ qí zài wèn tí fā shēng hòu bào xīn jiù huǒ, bù rú tí qián zuò hǎo yù fáng gōng zuò.

  Instead of putting out a fire with wood after the problem occurs, it is better to take preventive measures in advance.

Related Idioms

• 火上浇油

• 饮鸩止渴

• 治标不治本

Opposite Idioms

• 雪中送炭

• 釜底抽薪

• 根除祸患