Pull up the seedling to help it grow. It is a metaphor for violating the law of development of things and rushing to achieve success instead.
Idiom Pronunciation:
拔苗助长
bá miáo zhù zhǎng
Origin book:
《孟子·公孙丑上》：宋人有闵其苗之不长而揠之者，芒芒然归，谓其人曰：“今日病矣！予助苗长矣！”其子趋而往视之，苗则槁矣。天下之不助苗长者寡矣。以为无益而舍之者，不耘苗者也；助之长者，揠苗者也。非徒无益，而又害之。
Origin Story:
Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the Song Dynasty who was very concerned about his crops and went to the field every day to see them. He thought the seedlings in his field were growing too slowly, so he worried all day long, wondering how to make the seedlings grow taller faster.
One day, he had an idea and finally came up with a solution. So, without hesitation, he rolled up his pants and ran to the paddy field, and began to pull the seedlings up one by one. Until half noon, get tired and hungry. In the evening, the farmer finished his masterpiece, which he thought was clever, and ran home proudly, impatiently telling his wife, “I tell you a great thing, I have a good idea today, so that the rice seedlings in our field grew much taller.” His wife asked what happened, and he told her so and so.
When his son heard that the seedlings in the house were growing taller, he excitedly flew to the field to see. At that time, he found that the rice seedlings had grown taller, but they were hanging low and looked like they were about to wither.
Similar Idioms:
- 欲速不达
