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置之死地而后生

zhì zhī sǐ dì ér hòu shēngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sūn zǐ Bīng fǎ]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle / to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger / to find a way to emerge from a dire situation
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-5dc1ec8e585b3e73. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

置之死地而後生 置之死地而后生 [zhi4 zhi1 si3 di4 er2 hou4 sheng1] /(idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle; to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger; to find a way to emerge from a dire situation/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 置之死地而後生

  • 置
    zhì

    to install / to place / to put / to buy

  • 之
    zhī

    (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it

  • 死
    sǐ

    to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

  • 地
    de

    -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct

    dì

    earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[piàn]

  • 而
    ér

    and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

  • 后
    hòu

    empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler / back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-

    Hòu

    surname Hou

  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.