The idiom "重蹈覆辙" (chóng dǎo fù zhé) is formed through a vivid metaphorical construction: "重" means to repeat, "蹈" means to step onto, "覆" means overturned, and "辙" refers to the wheel tracks of a cart. Literally, it paints the picture of "stepping again into the overturned cart's ruts." This imagery originates from a historical admonition in the "Book of Later Han," where it was used to warn against following the same disastrous path as a failed predecessor. Thus, the phrase is syntactically structured as a verb-object compound where the action ("重蹈") acts upon the metaphorical object ("覆辙"), crystallizing into a timeless warning against repeating past mistakes.