play off one power against another(yǐ yí gōng yí)

play off one power against another

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is y ǐ y í g ō ngy í, which means to make foreigners attack each other. This is a kind of national differentiation policy carried out by the feudal ruling class to the ethnic minorities. In the late Qing Dynasty, it also refers to the use of Western science and technology to deal with the invasion of capitalist countries. It comes from the biography of Chao CuO in the history of Han Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

"To attack barbarians with barbarians is the form of China," says Chao CuO Zhuan in the history of Han Dynasty Yan shigu's note: "don't worry about the Chinese soldiers, make the same kind attack each other."

Idiom usage

With the help of external forces.

Examples

In the biography of Li Cai in the history of the Ming Dynasty, Tang yaoqin and others also said: "if you use foreign materials to attack foreign people, you can't lose your contribution."

What is a book for? He said: "it's for attacking foreigners with foreigners.". Preface to the atlas of the sea by Wei Yuan in Qing Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : yǐ yí gōng yí