Back in the olden days in Ancient China, a bloodthirsty leader named Xiang Yu was preparing for battle. The command he gave to his army: “break the cauldrons and sink the boats” (破釜沉舟). The message: no retreat, it’s victory or nothing. The phrase lives on as a

Chinese “chengyu”, a 4-character idiom. But modern Chinese generally aren’t warlords, so when is this idiom used? And did Xiang Yu’s gambit pay off?