During the Warring States period, the state of Wei was constantly invaded by Qin. After King Anxi of Wei ascended the throne, Qin intensified its attacks, and Wei suffered repeated defeats. In the first year of his reign, Qin seized two Wei towns; the next year, three more fell, and Qin forces even threatened the capital, putting Wei in dire straits. Han sent troops to help, but they were also routed. Wei had no choice but to cede territory to end the war. Yet in the third year, Qin attacked again, capturing two more towns and killing tens of thousands. In the fourth year, Qin crushed the combined armies of Wei, Han, and Zhao, slaughtering 150,000 soldiers; Wei's general Mang Mao was also lost in the chaos.
As the Wei army suffered repeated defeats, King Anxi of Wei grew restless with worry. His general, Duan Ganzi, also terrified, proposed a desperate solution: cede Nanyang to Qin in exchange for peace. The king, already fearing Qin's advances, agreed, hoping a land concession would buy tranquility.
At that time, there was a man named Su Dai, the younger brother of Su Qin, who consistently advocated for "vertical alliance against Qin." He also strongly urged the various states to unite against Qin. Upon learning that Wei had ceded territory to sue for peace, Su Dai said to King Anxi:
"An insatiable invader cannot be satisfied by ceding territory and sovereignty in exchange for peace," the advisor warned the king. "As long as your land remains, their greed will never end. This is like carrying firewood to put out a fire—throwing bundle after bundle into the flames only fuels the blaze. The fire will never die until the last piece of wood is consumed."
However, King Anxi refused to heed Su Dai's advice, continuing to grovel for peace, and within just a few years, the state of Wei was ultimately conquered by Qin.
Later, "Carrying Firewood to Put Out a Fire" came to describe trying to eliminate a disaster but using the wrong method, which instead makes the disaster worse and more severe.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Hereditary House of Wei"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "抱薪救火" came to describe how trying to eliminate a disaster but using the wrong method, which instead makes the disaster worse and more severe.