{"path":"/entry/78220","title":"破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) — Chinese Dictionary | Flashbao","description":"破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu): literally to break the cauldrons and sink the boats (idiom) · figuratively to cut off one's means of retreat. Explore meanings, example sentences and vocabulary decks.","catalog":null,"deck":null,"entry":{"reading":{"id":78220,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["破釜沉舟"],"TRADITIONAL":["破釜沉舟"]}},"phonetic":"pò fǔ chén zhōu","phoneticKey":"po4 fu3 chen2 zhou1","meanings":{"primary":[{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"literally to break the cauldrons and sink the boats ","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]},{"dim":true,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"(idiom)","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]},{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"figuratively to cut off one's means of retreat","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"to burn one's boats","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]}],"additional":[],"notes":[],"variantMeanings":[]},"classifiers":[],"pos":["NOUN","VERB"],"frequency":39262,"grammar":[],"spokenPhonetic":null},"otherReadings":[],"examples":[],"carriedReadings":[],"constructions":[],"status":null,"due":null,"reps":null,"lapses":null,"lastReview":null,"senses":[],"origins":[{"literal":"break the (cooking) pots and sink the boat","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":{"simplified":"In reference to an incident which occurred during the Battle of Julu","traditional":null}}],"examples":[{"text":{"simplified":"项羽乃悉引兵渡河，皆沉船，破釜甑，烧庐舍，持三日粮，以示士卒必死，无一还心。","traditional":"項羽乃悉引兵渡河，皆沈船，破釜甑，燒廬舍，持三日糧，以示士卒必死，無一還心。"},"phonetic":"Xiàng Yǔ nǎi xī yǐn bīng dù Hé, jiē chén chuán, pò fǔ zèng, shāo lúshè, chí sān rì liáng, yǐ shì shìzú bì sǐ, wú yī huán xīn.","english":"Thus Xiang Yu led his entire army across the River He (i.e. the Yellow River). He had all the boats sunk, the caldrons and clay boilers broken, and the camp lodgings burned. He further ordered that only three days' provisions should be carried. With these measures, he showed that every man was now ready to die and none of them would entertain the very idea of returning.","ref":"The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE"}],"senseScoped":false}],"decks":[{"id":27,"sourceName":"Chengyu","name":"Chengyu"}],"vocabularyScale":null,"vocabularyLevel":null}}