Swallow the charcoal and paint the body(tūn tàn qī shēn)

smear one 's body to disguise oneself and eat charcoal to change one 's voice

Chinese idioms, Pinyin is Q ī sh ē NT ū NT à n, which means to deliberately change the sound, so that people can not recognize themselves. It comes from Zhao ceyi, Warring States policy, and biographies of assassins in historical records.

Idiom explanation

Lacquer body: the body is painted as a scab; Swallow charcoal: throat swallow charcoal to make dumb. It refers to deliberately changing the sound so that people can't recognize themselves.

The origin of Idioms

Zhao ceyi, the strategy of the Warring States Period: "Yu rang painted his body to be sharp again, so he had to remove his eyebrows and punish himself to change his appearance." He swallowed charcoal and became dumb, and changed his voice In the biography of assassins in historical records: "the lacquer body is a leper, and swallowing charcoal is dumb, which makes the shape unknowable."

Idioms and allusions

Zhao Xiangzi kills Zhibo. Yurang, Zhibo's disciple, plans to assassinate Zhao Xiangzi, but he is recognized. Yurang painted raw lacquer on his body, shaved his beard and eyebrows, cut his face and changed his appearance. To be a beggar to beg. His wife couldn't recognize him, and said, "you don't look like my husband. How can you speak so like my husband?" Yurang swallowed charcoal again, making his voice hoarse. Find the right opportunity to assassinate Zhao Xiangzi, and later things exposed to death. In the Warring States period, yurang was known to Zhibo. Later, Han, Zhao and Wei joined forces to attack Zhibo. Yurang is determined to revenge for his kindness. So he changed his voice and appearance, waiting for the opportunity to assassinate Zhao Xiangzi, and died of failure. Later, he took the words "to swallow up the coals, to yield" as the allusion to humiliation and revenge.

Idiom usage

For example, Li Ao of the Tang Dynasty wrote a statement on Lu Xun Guan with Li Zhongcheng, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty. I'm willing to work hard, and I'm willing to work together. In the biography of Wu Qiu Jian in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, Pei quoted the words "Jian, Qin and so on" as follows: "although Si Yi was upright, he burned his wife, swallowed up charcoal and painted his body, and died without hatred."

Idiom story

At the end of the spring and Autumn period, the state of Jin was controlled by six ministers: Zhi, Zhao, Han, Wei, fan and Bank of China. In 458 BC, Zhibo, together with Han, Zhao and Wei families, destroyed fan and Zhongxing families and divided their land. In 455 BC, Zhibo asked Han, Zhao and Wei to cede land to him. Zhao Xiangzi refused, and convinced Han, Wei and Zhao to unite, killing Zhi in 453 BC. there was a man named yurang in the state of Jin who used to work under the fans and zhongxings. Later, he went to Zhibo, and Zhibo appreciated him very much. After Zhibo died, he vowed to avenge him and kill Zhao Xiangzi. He changed his name and went to the toilet in Zhao Xiang's womb to do the chore of plastering the wall with mud. There was a dagger hidden around him. Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiangzi was very alert. When he went to the toilet, he was suddenly moved. He asked someone to catch yurang who was painting the wall and found the hidden weapon. Yurang told Zhao Xiangzi directly that he wanted to avenge Zhibo. He wanted to kill yurang, but Zhao Xiangzi said, "he's a man of righteousness. I'll avoid him carefully." He ordered his men to let him go. After a period of time, yurang smeared the paint on his face and body. It makes people look as if they have a serious skin disease, swallowing charcoal and making their voice hoarse. He begged along the street, and his wife walked by without recognizing him. A most intimate friend recognized him and said to him with tears in his eyes, "with your talent, if you go to work for Zhao Xiangzi, you will surely get his respect and affection. At that time, is it not easy for you to revenge? Why do you have to practice yourself like this? " Yu rang said: "I am a minister under people's hands, but I want to kill him in my heart. I have two hearts to serve my king. The reason why I want to swallow charcoal with all my heart is to make the world and future generations feel ashamed of those who serve their monarchs with two hearts! " Yurang hid under a bridge that Zhao Xiangzi must pass through. When Zhao Xiangzi came to the bridge, the horse was suddenly frightened. Zhao Xiangzi said, "this must be yurang!" He immediately pulled out yurang who was hiding under the bridge. Seeing the appearance of yurang, Zhao Xiangzi couldn't help sighing and weeping and said: "Yuzi (" Zi "is the ancient people's respectful name). You have achieved a good reputation as Zhibo, and it's enough for me to forgive you once. You can do it yourself. I won't let you go any more. " Zhao Xiangzi's men immediately surrounded yurang. Yu rang asked Zhao Xiangzi to take off his clothes and let him cut them with his sword to show that he had avenged Zhibo. Zhao Xiangzi agreed. Yurang took out his sword to commit suicide after he reached his goal.

Chinese PinYin : tūn tàn qī shēn