揚湯止沸

From a famous letter by Mei Cheng (aka Mei Sheng, pronunciation unclear) to Liu Bi (Wade-Giles: Liu Pi) so as to hold him back from rising up in revolt:

欲湯之滄，一人炊之，百人揚之，無益也，不如絕薪止火而已。不絕之於彼，而救之於此，譬由抱薪而救火也。

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欲汤之沧，一人炊之，百人扬之，无益也，不如绝薪止火而已。不绝之于彼，而救之于此，譬由抱薪而救火也。

From: 162 BCE, 枚乘,《上書諫吳王》, translation based on Stephen Owen's version

Yù tāng zhī cāng, yī rén chuī zhī, bǎi rén yáng zhī, wúyì yě, bùrú jué xīn zhǐ huǒ éryǐ. Bùjué zhī yú bǐ, ér jiù zhī yú cǐ, pìyóu bào xīn ér jiù huǒ yě.

If you want hot water to cool off, and one man fans the flames while a hundred men ladle it, it would be better to stop adding the fuel and end the fire! Not stopping one thing, while trying to fix it with another, may be compared to taking an armload of kindling to put out a fire.

Blended with an earlier version attested in Lüshi Chunqiu:

夫以湯止沸，沸愈不止，去其火則止矣。

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夫以汤止沸，沸愈不止，去其火则止矣。

From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

Fú yǐ tāng zhǐ fèi, fèi yù bùzhǐ, qù qí huǒ zé zhǐ yǐ.

To cease boiling, pouring hot water into the pot, it will boil over. The best way to prevent it should be to stop stoking the fire.

揚湯止沸

1. (figuratively) to implement temporary solutions that do not address the root of the problem

   • 臣罪應傾宗，禍應覆族。遭乾坤之靈，值時來之運，揚湯止沸使不燋爛。
     臣罪应倾宗，祸应覆族。遭乾坤之灵，值时来之运，扬汤止沸使不燋烂。

     From: Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 3^rd century CE

     Chén zuì yīng qīng zōng, huò yīng fù zú. Zāo qiánkūn zhī líng, zhí shí lái zhī yùn, yángtāngzhǐfèi shǐ bù jiāo làn.

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

• “揚湯止沸”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.