大兴土木

大興土木

dàxīng-tǔmù

idiom #87,139

Meanings

1 to undertake large-scale construction
2 to embark on extensive building works
3 to raise buildings on a grand scale

Characters

to launch; set in motion

earth; earthworks

Examples

新政府上任后大兴土木。

Xīn zhèngfǔ shàngrèn hòu dàxīng-tǔmù.

After taking office, the new government launched large-scale construction.

他为了办婚礼在老家大兴土木。

Tā wèile bàn hūnlǐ zài lǎojiā dàxīng-tǔmù.

For his wedding, he put up new buildings back home on a grand scale.

皇帝大兴土木修建宫殿，劳民伤财。

Huángdì dàxīng-tǔmù xiūjiàn gōngdiàn, láomín-shāngcái.

The emperor poured resources into grand palace-building, exhausting the people and the treasury.

Tips

history

Attested in Hong Mai's Song-dynasty 《容斋三笔》 (vol. 11), describing flattering ministers who misled Emperor Zhenzong with omens into 大兴土木 for the Jade Pure Palace. From the start the idiom carried a critical edge: building on a scale that burdens the state.

register

Often mildly critical - implies excess, waste, or vanity projects. Neutral in strictly descriptive historical contexts, but in modern commentary usually points at extravagance.

Stroke Order

大 dà

兴 xīng

土 tǔ

木 mù