ten thousand horses stand mute(wàn mǎ qí yīn)

ten thousand horses stand mute

The Chinese idiom, w à nm à Q í y à n in pinyin, means that all horses are silent. In the old days, it was used to describe that people dare not speak. Now it is also used to describe a dull political situation. From San Ma Tu Zan.

Idiom explanation

Dumb: dumb.

The origin of Idioms

Preface to Su Shi's "San Ma Tu Zan" in Song Dynasty: "Gongma in the western regions "All horses will visit you." According to Gong Zizhen's Miscellaneous Poems of Jihai in Qing Dynasty, "the atmosphere of Jiuzhou depends on the wind and thunder, and ten thousand horses are silent together, so we can mourn."

Idiom usage

Subject predicate; predicate, attributive; derogatory. His speech broke the dull air in the meeting.

Idiom story

Gong Zizhen, a famous poet and writer in Qing Dynasty, was also one of the pioneers of bourgeois reformism in modern times. Gong Zizhen was 27 years old and won the examination 11 years later. It's not that he didn't pay attention to it, but that he hated the Eight Legged essays that confine his thoughts and didn't want to write flashy articles. What he studied was the knowledge that was useful for rejuvenating the country and helping the world, and he was proud of it. Gong Zizhen was the first to hand in the examination paper when he took part in the palace examination. Then he left the examination room. Someone asked him how he did in the exam. He said the content of the article. Friends congratulated him and said, "brother Gong must be the top in high school!" Gong Zizhen snorted and said, "it depends on the fate of the Qing Dynasty." The implication is that if the examiner knows the Pearl, I, Gong Zizhen, would like to do my best to revitalize the Qing Dynasty. Gong Zizhen has no intention of sensationalism. His articles are all about the national economy and the people's livelihood, among which the opinions on the development of Northwest China are the most accurate and practical. However, Gong Zizhen has only been an unimportant official in Beijing for 10 years. His heroes have no place to play, his political ambitions can not be displayed, and he is often excluded. In the past 10 years, he witnessed the decadence of the Qing Dynasty and thought it was an era in which intelligence was stifled. Therefore, at the age of 48, he left the government to return home on the pretext of serving his aged parents. In 1839, Gong Zizhen wrote 315 seven character quatrains on her way to the south. When I got home, I sorted it into a collection, which was named "Jihai zashi" because the Ganzhi chronicle of that year was "Jihai". One of them is written like this: it was a day in early July, and the hot sun made Gong Zizhen's face sweat. There are very few pedestrians on the road. Not far away is the sound of bells and melodious music. Gong Zizhen looked up, but saw a flag hanging high in front of an ancient temple. Under the guidance of Taoist priests, a group of good men and women were worshipping the Jade Emperor and Lei Gong in the shrine, begging for wind and rain. Gong Zizhen thought that he had written to the imperial court many times, demanding to change the reality and enrich the country and the people. This idea was not realized, but was repeatedly attacked and persecuted. I also think of the scene of barren countryside and poor people on this road. I feel that in this lifeless era, we must have all kinds of excellent talents to carry out major reforms in order to break this lifeless situation. At this moment, Gong Zizhen's indignation suddenly turned into an ardent call for the earth's wind and thunder, and an ardent demand for the reform plan. Word by word, Gong Zizhen hit his chest, so he chanted a poem: Kyushu is angry, depending on the wind and thunder, and all horses are silent. I would like to urge the Lord of heaven to be energetic and not stick to one style to demote talents. Gong Zizhen's demand for innovation in his poems expresses the hope of the people and is also the precursor of bourgeois reformism. The idiom "ten thousand horses are silent together" comes from Gong Zizhen's poem. The original meaning is that we need to rely on great changes like storm and thunder to restore China's vitality; it is a sad phenomenon that people dare not speak.

Chinese PinYin : wàn mǎ qí yīn