appear to be tough outwardly , be timid inwardly(sè lì nèi rěn)

appear to be tough outwardly , be timid inwardly

As a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is s è L ì n è IR ě n, which means tough in appearance but weak in heart. It comes from the Analects of Confucius Yang Huo.

explain

① Color: look, appearance. ② Li: majestic and ferocious. ③ Inner: inner. ④ EBA: weak and cowardly. It is often used to describe a person who is stern in appearance but timid in heart. He is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

The origin of Idioms

In the Analects of Confucius, Yang Huo: "the color is fierce and the inside is fierce. It's like the villains, and their thieves are also related to each other."

Examples

① (Lun Heng volume 10 Fei Han chapter 29) written by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "treacherous people are good on the outside and evil on the inside, and they are fierce on the inside. As a kind of virtuous behavior, they are willing to be promoted, flattered, unfilial and evil, so as to get rid of the blame of martyrdom?" He ran all over the concession and observed the embarrassment of the imperialist minions. (Professor of English by Ye Shengtao) also known as "external Li and internal EBA" (Southern Song Dynasty Fan Ye's book of the later Han Dynasty, Volume 30, biography of Lang Kaixiang, Volume 20): "today's three gongs are all respectful, external Li and internal EBA. They can't help the country in the matter of emptiness, so it's the invasion of yin and cold that the effect of clearing turbidity is not effective." Liu Xu of the later Jin Dynasty wrote the book of the old Tang Dynasty, volume 168, biography 118, Qian Hui: "in the last dynasty, cheating, the inside and the outside are strong.". The officials of Qing Dynasty are loyal and honest, but they are slandered when they retreat. The common people are slandered when they don't have the benefit of learning from each other, but they are slandered when they are infiltrated. "

Idiom usage

He traveled all over the concession to observe the embarrassment of the imperialists. (Professor of English by Ye Shengtao)

Idiom story

original text

In the Analects of Confucius, Yang Huo, Confucius said: "some people are very strict in appearance, but very cowardly in heart. If you use villain as a metaphor, it's like a thief who goes over a wall and digs into someone else's house." Through this passage, we can probably know that in Confucius' eyes, those who are "fierce in color and evil in the interior" refer to people who are different in appearance and in the interior. Such a person disguises himself as a stern and righteous person in front of others, stealing the respect of others, but he is afraid of being seen through in his heart, which is contemptible, just like a thief pretending to be aboveboard in front of others, but he is afraid of being exposed in his heart. Later, it was used to describe a person who is stern in appearance but timid in heart.

commentary

Confucius described the psychology of those in power at the end of the spring and Autumn period. They were dignified and dignified on the outside, but timid and fragile on the inside. It satirizes the people who are pretending to be powerful, duplicative, duplicative, abusing power for personal gain, committing crimes, corruption and violating the law and discipline. They extremely despise those who are fierce, deceitful, domineering and fishing for fame. He pretends to be a person of benevolence and righteousness in front of others and steals other people's piety. However, he is afraid of being told the truth, and he is worried all day long. Before his crime was exposed, he called the wind and called the rain. Once the east window incident happened, he trembled and ran away. Therefore, Confucius called it "drilling through the wall, surreptitious and sneaky".

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym]: strong on the outside, strong in the middle, and empty on the outside; [antonym]: consistent on the outside, worthy of the name

Chinese PinYin : sè lì nèi rěn