斩草除根
意思是除草时要连根除掉，使草不能再长。比喻除去祸根，以免后患。这个成语出自《左传·隐公六年》：“为国家者，见恶如农夫之务去草焉，芟夷蕰崇之，绝其本根，勿使能殖，则善者信矣。”
据《左传．隐公六年》载，春秋时，结邻的陈、郑二国时常发生争端而彼此交恶。后来郑国曾提出请求，希望能够与陈国和平共处。当时，陈桓公弟五父认为广结善缘是国家的重要施政方针，因此建议接受讲和。
但陈桓公却认为宋、卫两国才是难以对付的敌手，郑国算不了什么，就拒绝接受郑国的讲和。结果在陈桓公六年五月时，郑国入侵陈国，陈 国大败，被掳去许多财物及俘虏。导致这种结果的原因，就是因为陈桓公没有广结善缘，让恶因滋长蔓生而不知悔改，随之而来的便是自取祸害。
周朝大夫周任曾说：“治理国家的，看到恶人恶事，就要像农民铲除田里的杂草一样，直接将聚生的杂草连根拔起，不让它有再生的机会，这样除去恶的，善的才能发扬。”后来斩草除根这句成语就从这里演变而出，用来比喻除去祸根，不留后患。
When cutting weeds, remove the roots as well — Pluck up the evil by the root
About 2,700 years ago during the Spring and Autumn Period, the States Wei and Chen dispatched their armies to attack Zheng. Duke Zhuang of Zheng asked Duke Huan of Chen to make peace with him. But Duke Huan didn’t agree. His brother tried to persuade him: “The most important thing is to get on well with neighbors. We’d better make peace with Zheng.”
Hearing that, Duke Huan got very angry. He said: “Wei and Song are strong powers. I’m afraid that they’ll make things difficult for me. But Zheng is a small state. I’d like to see what it can do about me if I attack it!” So he ordered his army to continue attacking Zheng.
Two years later, Zheng became a strong power, and sent an army to attack Chen. Chen suffered a crushing defeat. Moreover, Chen’s neighboring states sat back and watched without going to the rescue. They said it was Chen itself that had asked for trouble. Finishing this story, the historian quoted Zhou Ren, a senior official in the Zhou Dynasty, as saying:
“The leader of a state must destroy evil, leaving no chance of its revival. Just like a farmer, who, when he finds weeds, must cut them and dig up the roots. If a duke can stamp out the source of trouble, he can let justice prevail.”
From that quotation, people drew the idiom: Zhan Cao Chu Gen “to cut down the grass and pull up the roots”. Now it is used to say destroying something completely, or to pluck up evil by the root.
Once again, our idiom for today is Zhan Cao Chu Gen – “when cutting weeds, remove the roots as well”–“to cut down the grass and pull up the roots”. Now it is used to say destroying something completely, or to pluck up evil by the root.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
