因势利导

Pinyin:yīn shì lì dǎo

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📖 Meaning

Guide with the flow

📜 Origin

《史记》

💡 Detailed Explanation

"Yin Shi Li Dao" (guiding according to the circumstances) means to follow the development trend of things and guide them toward a favorable direction. This idiom originates from the Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, reflecting the wisdom of ancient Chinese Daoism and military strategy. It emphasizes not acting against the trend but leveraging momentum to counter force, using softness to overcome hardness. Its deeper meaning lies in respecting objective laws, being skilled at observing and utilizing existing conditions, and achieving twice the result with half the effort through clever guidance. It has a wide range of applications, applicable not only to military strategy and political governance but also to education, management, communication, and other everyday fields. In terms of cultural background, it reflects the philosophical ideas of "harmony between heaven and humanity" and "acting in accordance with the trend" in Chinese culture. Its emotional tone is positive, often used to praise someone for being good at seizing opportunities and adapting flexibly. In contemporary society, yin shi li dao is an important leadership and problem-solving ability, reminding people not to force change but to push along with the trend to achieve harmonious development.

📝 Example

1. Facing the students' curiosity, the teacher guided them along the trend and encouraged them to actively explore scientific knowledge. (It refers to following the trend of students' interests and guiding them so as to turn it into learning motivation.) 2. In market competition, enterprises should guide the situation along its trend and adjust product strategies according to changes in consumer demand. (It refers to following market trends and adjusting flexibly to gain a competitive advantage.)