This idiom, “破釜沉舟”, literally translates to “smashing the pots and sinking the boats.” It’s used to describe going all-in on a goal with your whole heart and mind, leaving yourself no path for retreat. Why is the phrase 破釜沉舟 used to describe going all-in? That’s that this story will explain. I don’t want to spoil it for you (and it’s very easy to spoil), so I won’t say more than that. But I will give you a few examples of the phrase 破釜沉舟 used in a sentence:
他辞掉了工作，破釜沉舟，决定全力以赴地实现自己的梦想。
He quit his job, burned his bridges, and decided to give everything he had to achieving his dream.
考试只剩下一个星期了，我要破釜沉舟，每天学习十个小时。
There is only one week left until the exam — I am going to go all in and study ten hours every day.
这是我们最后的机会，我们必须破釜沉舟，不能再犹豫了。
This is our last chance — we have to commit completely and can’t hesitate any longer.
Key vocab
起义军 – qǐyìjūn – rebel army, uprising forces
将军 – jiāngjūn – general
渡过 – dùguò – to cross (a river)
震惊 – zhènjīng – to shock, to astonish
凿破 – záopò – to bore holes in, to chisel through
退路 – tuìlù – way of retreat, escape route
斗志高昂 – dòuzhìgāoáng – high fighting spirit, high morale
以一当十 – yǐyīdāngshí – one person fighting as if ten
以少胜多 – yǐshǎoshèngduō – to defeat a larger force with a smaller one
破釜沉舟
秦朝末年，秦国的统治非常残暴，老百姓的生活十分痛苦。各地纷纷出现了反抗秦国的起义军。
当时，有一位非常勇敢的将军，名叫项羽。他率领楚国的军队，准备攻打秦国的大军。秦国的军队非常强大，人数也比楚国多得多。很多士兵心里感到害怕，没有信心打赢这场仗。
项羽带领军队渡过了漳河。到了对岸之后，他下达了一个让所有人都感到震惊的命令。
他命令士兵们把所有的船凿破，沉入河里。
他又命令士兵们把做饭用的锅全部砸碎。
最后，他让士兵们烧掉了营地里所有的帐篷。
士兵们都不明白，纷纷议论：”没有船，我们怎么回去？没有锅，我们吃什么？”
项羽对士兵们说：”我们已经没有退路了。船没有了，锅也没有了，我们只能向前打。每个人只带三天的粮食，三天之内，我们必须打败敌人。”
士兵们听了，明白了项羽的用意。既然已经无路可退，就只能拼尽全力向前战斗。于是，所有人都变得非常勇敢，斗志高昂。
楚国的军队以一当十，奋勇杀敌，连续打了九场仗，场场获胜。最终，他们以少胜多，大败秦军，取得了巨大的胜利。
Burning the Boats and Smashing the Pots
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the Qin state’s rule was extremely brutal, and the common people’s lives were very painful. Rebel armies opposing Qin appeared everywhere across the land.
At that time, there was a very brave general named Xiang Yu. He led the army of Chu, preparing to attack the great army of Qin. The Qin army was very powerful, and their numbers far exceeded those of Chu. Many soldiers felt afraid in their hearts and had no confidence in winning this battle.
Xiang Yu led his army across the Zhang River. After reaching the other side, he issued an order that shocked everyone.
He ordered the soldiers to bore holes in all the boats and sink them into the river.
He then ordered the soldiers to smash all the cooking pots.
Finally, he had the soldiers burn down all the tents in the camp.
The soldiers didn’t understand and discussed among themselves: “Without boats, how will we get back? Without pots, what will we eat?”
Xiang Yu said to the soldiers: “We no longer have any way to retreat. The boats are gone, the pots are gone too – we can only fight forward. Each person will carry only three days’ worth of food. Within three days, we must defeat the enemy.”
After hearing this, the soldiers understood Xiang Yu’s intention. Since there was no way to retreat, they could only fight forward with all their strength. Thus, everyone became extremely brave, with high fighting spirit.
The Chu army fought with the strength of one against ten, bravely killing enemies, and fought nine consecutive battles, winning every single one. In the end, they defeated the larger force with their smaller one, thoroughly crushed the Qin army, and achieved a tremendous victory.