抽刀断水 chōu dāo duàn shuǐ drawing a knife to cut water

Explanation

比喻做事方法不对头，结果非但不能解决问题，反而会使问题越来越严重。

The idiom is used to describe a situation where the approach to solving a problem is wrong, and not only fails to solve the problem, but also makes it worse.

Origin Story

很久以前，在一个偏僻的山村里，住着一位老农。他辛辛苦苦耕作了一辈子，攒下了一点积蓄，打算在村口买一块地建房。可没想到，村口那块地，却被村长给占了。老农很生气，多次找到村长理论，但村长根本不理他，还嘲笑他是个老糊涂。老农一气之下，拔出腰间的柴刀，对着村长家的院墙，狠狠地砍了下去，他想把院墙砍倒，以此来表达自己的愤怒。然而，他砍啊砍，院墙却纹丝不动，水却像汹涌澎湃的江河，源源不断地流淌，刀根本砍不断。他越砍越生气，越砍越无力。最后，他筋疲力尽，瘫坐在地上，痛哭流涕。这时，村里的其他村民都围了上来，劝他不要再做无谓的挣扎了。 老农这才明白，自己这么做根本解决不了问题，反而会让自己更加痛苦。抽刀断水，水更流，他最终明白了这个道理，停止了无谓的努力。

hěn jiǔ yǐ qián, zài yīgè piānpì de shān cūn lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi lǎo nóng. tā xīn xīn kǔ kǔ gēng zuò le yībèizi, zǎn xia le yī diǎn jī xù, dǎ suàn zài cūn kǒu mǎi yī kuài dì jiàn fáng. kě méi xiǎng dào, cūn kǒu nà kuài dì, què bèi cūn zhǎng gěi zhàn le. lǎo nóng hěn shēng qì, duō cì zhǎo dào cūn zhǎng lí lùn, dàn cūn zhǎng gēn běn bù lǐ tā, hái cháoxiào tā shì gè lǎo hú tu. lǎo nóng yī qì zhī xià, bá chū yāo jiān de chái dāo, duì zhe cūn zhǎng jiā de yuàn qiáng, hěn hěn de kǎn le xià qù, tā xiǎng bǎ yuàn qiáng kǎn dǎo, yǐ cǐ lái biǎo dá zìjǐ de fènnù. rán ér, tā kǎn a kǎn, yuàn qiáng què wén sī bù dòng, shuǐ què xiàng xūnyǒng péngpài de jiāng hé, yuányuán bù duàn de liútǎng, dāo gēn běn kǎn bù duàn. tā yuè kǎn yuè shēng qì, yuè kǎn yuè wú lì. zuì hòu, tā jīn pí jìn jì, tān zuò zài dì shàng, tòng kū liù tì. zhè shí, cūn lǐ de qí tā cūn mín dōu wéi le shàng lái, quàn tā bù yào zài zuò wèi wèi de zhēng zhā le. lǎo nóng cái cèi míng bái, zìjǐ zhème zuò gēn běn jiě jué bù liǎo wèntí, fǎn ér huì ràng zìjǐ gèng jiā tòngkǔ. chōu dāo duàn shuǐ, shuǐ gèng liú, tā zuì zhōng míng bái le zhège dàolǐ, tíng zhǐ le wèi wèi de nǔlì.

Long ago, in a remote mountain village, lived an old farmer. He had worked hard all his life and saved a little money, planning to buy a piece of land at the village entrance to build a house. Unexpectedly, the land at the village entrance was occupied by the village chief. The old farmer was very angry and went to reason with the village chief many times, but the village chief ignored him and laughed at him as a senile old fool. In a fit of rage, the old farmer drew his waist knife and fiercely slashed at the wall of the village chief's courtyard, wanting to knock down the wall to express his anger. However, he hacked and hacked, but the wall remained motionless, while the water, like a surging river, flowed continuously; the knife couldn't cut it at all. The more he hacked, the angrier and more powerless he became. In the end, he was exhausted and collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly. At this time, other villagers surrounded him, advising him to stop his futile struggle. The old farmer then understood that what he was doing would not solve the problem at all; instead, it would only make him suffer more. Drawing a knife to cut water, the water flows even more; finally, he understood this truth and stopped his futile efforts.

Usage

用于比喻徒劳无功，甚至会使情况恶化。

yòng yú bǐ yù tú láo wú gōng, shènzhì huì shǐ qíngkuàng è huà

It is used as a metaphor to describe futile efforts, which may even worsen the situation.

Examples

• 面对这无法挽回的局面，我们只能无奈地感叹：抽刀断水水更流，徒劳无功啊！

  miàn duì zhè wúfǎ wán huí de júmiàn, wǒmen zhǐ néng wú nài de gǎntán: chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú, tú láo wú gōng a！

  Faced with this irreversible situation, we can only sigh helplessly: Cutting water with a knife, the water flows even faster; it's all in vain!

Related Idioms

• 杯水车薪

• 螳臂当车

Opposite Idioms

• 对症下药

• 有的放矢