倒行逆施

dàoxíng-nìshī

idiom #61,595

Meanings

1 to act against reason or the will of the people
2 to go against the tide of history
3 to do the perverse and wrong thing

Characters

reversed, backward

to walk, to act

contrary, against

to carry out, to apply

Examples

这种倒行逆施的政策迟早会被废除。

Zhèzhǒng dàoxíngnìshī de zhèngcè chízǎo huì bèi fèichú.

Such policies that go against the people's will are bound to be repealed sooner or later.

他倒行逆施，最终落得众叛亲离的下场。

Tā dàoxíngnìshī, zuìzhōng luòde zhòng pàn qīn lí de xiàchǎng.

He acted perversely against all reason and ended up abandoned by everyone around him.

历史证明，倒行逆施的统治者不会有好结果。

Lìshǐ zhèngmíng, dàoxíngnìshī de tǒngzhìzhě búhuì yǒu hǎo jiéguǒ.

History proves that rulers who go against the tide come to no good end.

Tips

history

From the Shi Ji biography of Wu Zixu (《史记·伍子胥列传》). After whipping the corpse of the late King Ping of Chu, Wu Zixu defended himself by saying 吾日暮途远，吾故倒行而逆施之 — 'my day is late and my road is long, so I acted contrary to custom.' Originally self-defense for extreme action; now pure condemnation.

register

Strongly pejorative. Reserved for tyrannical rulers, harmful policies, or actions against clear moral or historical current. Not for everyday bad decisions.

Stroke Order

倒 dǎo

行 xíng

逆 nì

施 shī