Chinese idiom · 成语
危如累卵
Meaning
Perilous as stacked eggs; extreme danger.
Character by character
Origin and story
political anecdoteHan Feizi's chapter on ten political errors includes the danger of a small state's ruler behaving arrogantly. In its account, Chong'er, the future ruler of Jin, passes through Cao in exile and is treated disrespectfully. After returning to power, he attacks Cao, while ordering protection for the household of Xi Fuji, who had treated him well. The chapter compares Cao's ruler, caught between stronger powers, to eggs stacked on one another: precarious before he adds further danger through his conduct. Related egg comparisons also occur in other early texts. The idiom describes an unstable situation close to collapse, not a literal egg-balancing contest.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
主要客户突然取消订单，这家小厂的经营立刻变得危如累卵。
When its main customer suddenly canceled an order, the small factory's business became dangerously precarious.
Formal, strong wording for extreme instability or imminent collapse.