remain an indifferent spectator

stand by watching others battle

Chinese idioms, Pinyin is zuॸb ì sh à nggu ā n, originally refers to the two sides fighting, standing on the barrier to watch. After many metaphors stand by and watch, do not help. It comes from Xiang Yu's biography in historical records.

Analysis of Idioms

Stand by, watch the fire from the other side, stay out of the business, watch the fire from the other side, do nothing about yourself and hang up high

Idiom usage

I think that those who advocate going or staying have their own complicated backgrounds, so I just stand by and watch. Lu Xun's "book of two places · seven"

The origin of Idioms

Xiang Yu's biography in historical records: "when Chu attacked Qin, all generals watched from the wall."

Idiom story

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang fought against the Qin Dynasty and elected the grandson of King Huai of Chu as the king of Chu. Zhao, Wei, Yan, and Korea, which had been destroyed by the Qin Dynasty, also waited for the opportunity to restore the country and formed an alliance with the king of Chu to oppose the Qin Dynasty. Xiang Liang led the army to win one after another, and Qin II Hu Hai dispatched General Zhang Han to lead the army to suppress. In the first battle of Dingtao, Chu army was defeated and Xiang Liang died. Zhang hansui attacked Zhao and besieged King Yu Julu. The king of Zhao appealed to the king of Chu for help. The king of Chu took Song Yi as the main general, Xiang Yu as the deputy general, and led his division to aid Zhao. Song Yi tried to avoid the edge of the Qin army and preserve his strength. When the Chu army arrived in Anyang, it stayed there for 46 days. It was only when Qin and Zhao were defeated that they attacked. That's why Xiang Yu was so worried. He urged Song Yi to cross the river several times, but he was rejected. Song Yi even said, "I'm not as good as you when you rush into battle; you're not as good as me when you plan. "In a rage, Xiang Yu killed the whole army and reported to the king of Chu. The king of Chu appointed Xiang Yu as the chief General. Xiang Yu personally led the whole army through zhangshui, and immediately "broke the bridge and sank the boat". Each person only gave three days of dry food to fight to the death with the Qin army. At this time, there were more than a dozen local aid troops on the front line. Seeing that the Qin army was powerful, all the reinforcements stuck to their barracks and did not dare to fight easily. As soon as the Chu army arrived, it launched a fierce attack. It's a fierce battle. It's killing. The officers and men of the Chu army were like fierce tigers out of the mountains. They killed the Qin army and were defeated. The reinforcements saw the spectacle from their barracks. After the great victory of the Chu army, Xiang Yu became the leader of all anti Qin forces.