Chinese idiom · 成语
迎刃而解
Meaning
To split with the blade’s edge; to resolve easily.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical accountThe Book of Jin's biography of Du Yu records a military council during Jin's campaign against Wu. Some commanders want to stop until winter, warning of approaching heat, floods, and disease. Du Yu argues that their present momentum should not be wasted. He compares the advance to splitting bamboo: after the first few joints are opened, the rest part readily before the blade.
The expression comes directly from that comparison. Its modern application is broader: finding the right approach or removing a key obstacle can make connected problems easy to solve. The cutting image concerns bamboo and military momentum, rather than Cook Ding's butchery in the Zhuangzi.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
找到漏水的源头后，维修中的难题就迎刃而解了。
Once we found the source of the leak, the difficulties with the repair were easily resolved.
Often follows discovery of the key obstacle or solution.