Chinese idiom · 成语
饮鸩止渴
Meaning
To solve a problem with a worse one; short-term relief with long-term harm.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary analogyThe Hou Han Shu (後漢書), volume 48, preserves a petition by the young Huo Xu defending his uncle Song Guang against an accusation of altering an official document. Huo argues that risking a fatal punishment to resolve a minor difficulty would make no sense. He compares it to trying to relieve hunger or thirst with poisonous substances.
The poison is a rhetorical comparison; the episode does not describe someone actually drinking it. Zhen (鴆) is associated in traditional accounts with a poisonous bird and, by extension, poisoned wine. The idiom warns against an apparent immediate remedy that creates a much greater danger.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
为了赶进度而取消所有检查，无异于饮鸩止渴，后面的问题只会更多。
Skipping every check to meet the schedule is a dangerous short-term fix; it will only create more problems later.
A strong warning, suitable when the proposed solution is itself seriously harmful.