trace back to the sources
Chinese idiom, Pinyin is j í B ě nqi ó ngyu á n, which means to thoroughly study the origin. From Zhu Zi Yu Lei.
The origin of Idioms
Zhu Xi's Zhu Zi Yu Lei of the Song Dynasty, volume 95: "the nature of extreme poverty in Yichuan's words is the nature of temperament."
Analysis of Idioms
Synonyms: tracing back to the source
trace back to the sources
point to a hill and talk about grindstone -- make concealed reference to something - zhǐ shān shuō mò
speak of ice to insects that live only one summer - xià chóng yǔ bīng
see the error of one 's ways and repent - fān rán huǐ wù