become aware of one 's errors and turn back from one 's wrong path

become aware of one 's errors and turn back from one 's wrong path

A Chinese idiom, Pinyin is m í t ú zh ī f ǎ n, which means to get lost and know how to come back. It comes from the biography of Chen Bo in southern history.

Notes on Idioms

Lost: lost; back: back.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Chen Bo in the southern history, it is said that "a man who has lost his way knows the enemy, and he who goes to philosophy is in harmony with him."

Idiom usage

Serial verb; predicate; commendatory.

Examples

If one wants to know the wrong way, he must correct it.

Analysis of Idioms

If you are lost, you will know how to return

[antonym] confused

Idiom story

Chen Bozhi, the governor of Qi Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, was not replaced by Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty after the fall of Qi Dynasty. Under the instigation of Deng Shu, he fought against Liang Dynasty. Defeated by Liang army, he surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty and became a general of Pingnan to attack Liang Dynasty. Xiao Yan's younger brother, Xiao Hong, was ordered to fight in Shouyang during the northern expedition. In order to win over Chen Bozhi, Xiao Hong asked Qiu chi to write to him to persuade him to go astray.