推波助澜

Origin and story

Bao Zhao's Southern Dynasties fu on watching a water clock reflects on the speed of life and the passing of time. He compares existence to an arrow or a rolling ball, then imagines an unstoppable river whose waves are further enlarged by the wind. His wording is 'blowing the waves and adding to the billows,' a precursor to the familiar expression. The exact later form appears in Zhongshuo and in Song discussions criticizing ideas that make existing problems worse. Its central image is additional force applied to something already moving. Modern use often blames someone for intensifying a dispute, rumor, or harmful tendency.