Definition
引火烧身 is a four-character idiom that literally means 'draw fire to burn oneself'. It is used to describe an action that brings trouble or disaster upon oneself — like 'asking for trouble' or 'courting disaster'. In political contexts (especially during the Cultural Revolution), it also had a specialized meaning of voluntarily making self-criticism to invite criticism from others, but this usage is now rare. The idiom is usually employed as a predicate or attributive.
id.
to bring trouble upon oneselfto ask for trouble(historical, political) to make a self-criticism to encourage criticism from others
Examples
- ，引火烧身。Tā míngzhī nà shì gè piànjú hái yào cānyù, jiǎnzhí shì yǐn huǒ shāo shēn.He knew it was a scam but still joined in — that's simply asking for trouble.
- ，引火烧身。Zài zhè zhǒng mǐngǎn shíqī fābiǎo zhèyàng de yánlùn, wúyì yú yǐn huǒ shāo shēn.Making such remarks during this sensitive period is no different from courting disaster.
- ，引火烧身，。Dāngnián tā wèile biǎomíng lìchǎng, zhǔdòng yǐn huǒ shāo shēn, zuò le shēnkè de zìwǒ pīpíng.Back then, to show his stance, he voluntarily made a self-criticism to invite criticism from others.
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