探囊取物 Take something out of the bag
Explanation
比喻轻而易举地办成某事。
A metaphor for something that can be accomplished easily.
Origin Story
话说五代十国时期，南唐后主李煜荒淫无度，国力日渐衰弱。北方后周的势力日益强大，周世宗柴荣雄心勃勃，一心想灭掉南唐，统一南方。这时，后周的重臣韩熙载奉命出使南唐，表面上是友好访问，实际上是探听虚实，为将来灭南唐做准备。 韩熙载到了金陵，受到李煜的盛情款待。席间，李煜得意洋洋地夸耀南唐的繁华富强，并盛赞自己治国有方。韩熙载不动声色，暗中观察。宴席结束之后，韩熙载在给周世宗的密信中，详细描述了南唐的虚弱和李煜的昏庸，并预言，只要出兵南下，拿下南唐易如探囊取物。 周世宗收到韩熙载的密信后，大喜过望，立即调兵遣将，南征南唐。果然，南唐不堪一击，很快就被后周军队攻破。李煜被俘，南唐灭亡。 这个故事后来演变成成语“探囊取物”，用来形容轻而易举，毫不费力地取得成功。
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the last emperor of Southern Tang, Li Yu, was decadent and the national strength weakened day by day. The power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty became increasingly stronger, and Emperor Chai Rong of Zhou was ambitious to unify the south by conquering the Southern Tang. At this time, Han Xizai, a senior minister of the Zhou Dynasty, was sent to the Southern Tang on a diplomatic mission, ostensibly a friendly visit, but actually to investigate the situation and prepare for the future conquest of the Southern Tang. Han Xizai arrived in Jinling and was warmly received by Li Yu. During the banquet, Li Yu boasted about the prosperity and strength of Southern Tang, praising his governance. Han Xizai remained calm and secretly observed. After the banquet, in a secret letter to Emperor Chai Rong, Han Xizai described in detail the weakness of Southern Tang and the incompetence of Li Yu, and predicted that conquering the Southern Tang would be as easy as taking something out of a bag. After receiving Han Xizai's secret letter, Emperor Chai Rong was overjoyed and immediately sent troops south to attack Southern Tang. Sure enough, Southern Tang was no match for the Zhou army and was quickly conquered. Li Yu was captured, and Southern Tang was destroyed. This story later evolved into the idiom “tàn náng qǔ wù,” which is used to describe achieving success effortlessly.
Usage
通常用于形容事情很容易办成，毫不费力。
Usually used to describe something that is very easy to accomplish, effortlessly.
Examples
-
拿下这个项目对他来说简直是探囊取物。
ná xià zhège xiàngmù duì tā lái shuō jiǎnzhí shì tàn náng qǔ wù
Taking down this project was simply a piece of cake for him.
-
对于经验丰富的他来说，完成这项任务简直是探囊取物。
duìyú jīngyàn fēngfù de tā lái shuō, wánchéng zhè xiàng rènwu jiǎnzhí shì tàn náng qǔ wù
For the experienced man, completing this task was simply a piece of cake