纲举目张
gāng jǔ mù zhāng
grasp the key link and everything else falls into place
Character by character
纲gāng
headrope
headrope
举jǔ
lifted
lifted
目mù
meshes
meshes
张zhāng
open
open
Example
管理一家医院，首先要抓住医疗质量这个“纲”，纲举目张，其他工作才好安排。
To run a hospital, first grasp the key link, the quality of care; once that is in hand, everything else can be arranged.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
纲 is the headrope of a fishing net and 目 its meshes: lift the rope and every mesh opens. The wording comes from the Han scholar 郑玄 (举一纲而万目张), though the image is older. Used of plans, reforms and ways of working: find the main point and the details follow.
Learn this in Lesson 200 · HSK 7–9: 五年规划怎样做成 (How a five-year plan is made)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →