Chinese idiom · 成语
揠苗助长
Meaning
To pull seedlings to help them grow; to harm by forcing progress.
Character by character
Origin and story
FableMencius (孟子), Gong Sun Chou I (公孫丑上), tells of a man from Song anxious that his seedlings are not growing. He pulls them upward and returns exhausted, announcing that he has helped them grow. His son hurries out to look and finds them withered.
The story belongs to a discussion of cultivating moral strength. Mencius rejects both neglect and forced results: refusing to weed is one error, while pulling the plants is another. The idiom therefore does not recommend doing nothing. It warns that impatient interference with a process can destroy the very development one hopes to encourage.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
孩子刚学会拼音就逼他读长篇小说，未免揠苗助长。
Making a child read a long novel just after learning pinyin pushes development too hard.
Criticizes harmful attempts to accelerate learning or growth beyond its proper pace.