Idiom Explanation:
Catch everything in one net, it is a metaphor for catching or completely purging all of them without missing a single one.
Pronunciation:
一网打尽
yī wǎng dǎ jìn
origin:
宋·魏泰《东轩笔录》卷四：“剂待制元瑜既弹苏舜钦，而连坐者甚众，同时俊彦，为之一空。刘见宰相曰：‘聊为相公一网打尽。’”
story:
During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a famous poet named Su Shunqin, who was an important writer in the poetic and literary reform movement, and was known as “Ouyang Xiu” and “Mei Yaochen”. Su Sunqin was politically inclined to the reformist faction led by Fan Zhongyan. In 1044, Fan Zhongyan, Du Yan and Fu Bi gathered talents and prepared to implement new laws. But the chancellor Lü Yijian and the royal chancellor Wang Gongchen opposed the political reform. Su Shunyi, the son-in-law of Du Yan, was recommended by Fan Zhongyan to be the schoolmaster of the Hall of the Gifted and the superintendent of the court. He repeatedly wrote to Emperor Renzong, discussing the merits and demerits of current affairs and criticizing the then chancellor Lü Yijian, which caused Lü Yijian’s discontent and he began to wait for an opportunity to frame Su Shunqin and his reformists.
One year in the fall, it was the time for the God Festival. In order to have a good time on the day of the festival, Su Sunqin sold the old official envelopes that he had taken down in the court as usual, and he also took out 10,000 coins to contribute to the entertainment expenses. The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public. So, he started to spread the word around the capital that Su Shunqin and a group of officials were wasting money and having fun.
When the imperial historian Liu Yuan Yu heard about this, he was so happy that he hurriedly sent a petition to Emperor Renzong. Chancellor Lu Yi-jian saw the opportunity to take advantage of, also followed in front of the emperor said a lot of bad things about Su Shunqin. The emperor was furious, Su Sunqin betrayed the dismantled old official documents set, as “the crime of theft”, removed Su Sunqin’s official position. Other participants of the party were also implicated and removed from office, and the reformists were hit hard.
After being demoted, Su Sunqin left Bianzhou, built Canglang Pavilion in Suzhou, and lived in seclusion. In the eighth year of Qingli (1048 A.D.), he was reinstated as the governor of Huzhou, but he died at the age of forty-one before he could take up the post. Afterwards, Liu Yuan Yu proudly said to Chancellor Lv Yijian, “I’m glad that you’ve killed all of them.” This means that I have finally purged Su Shunqin’s group for you, and not a single one of them escaped the net.
Similar Idioms:
- 斩草除根
