宜疏不宜堵

yíshūbùyídǔ

phrase

Meanings

1 better to channel than to dam — problems should be guided / released rather than forcibly blocked
2 literally: fitting to dredge, not fitting to block

Characters

to dredge / channel / ease

Examples

管理青少年上网宜疏不宜堵。

Guǎnlǐ qīngshàonián shàngwǎng yí shū bù yí dǔ.

Managing teens' internet use is better done by channeling than by blocking.

群众意见宜疏不宜堵，堵得越紧反弹越大。

Qúnzhòng yìjiàn yí shū bù yí dǔ, dǔ de yuè jǐn fǎntán yuè dà.

Public opinion should be channeled, not blocked — the tighter you dam it, the bigger the rebound.

Tips

history

A modern political / managerial slogan descended from the ancient 大禹治水 (Great Yu's flood-control) story in 《史记·夏本纪》 and 《孟子》. Yu's father Gun tried to dam the floods and failed; Yu succeeded by dredging channels and leading the water to the sea. The phrase compresses this lesson into five characters. Very common in contemporary policy writing — public opinion management, urban traffic, adolescent education.

usage

Structural opposite: 堵 (block) vs. 疏 (dredge / channel / ease). Often appears alongside 大禹治水 references in op-eds about governance. Register is modern-official / editorial.

Stroke Order

宜 yí

疏 shū

不 bù

堵 dǔ