to make one smile is as difficult as to purify the river(xiào bǐ hé qīng)

to make one smile is as difficult as to purify the river

Xiaobiheqing, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is Xi à ob à h é Q à ng, which means to describe a serious attitude, hard to see a smile. It comes from the biography of Bao Zheng in the history of Song Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Bao Zheng in the history of the Song Dynasty, it is said that "the establishment of the dynasty is firm and resolute, and the eunuchs of noble relatives hold their hands for it, and those who hear it are afraid of it. Bao Zheng is more smiling than Huang He Qing. "

Idiom usage

It's formal; it's predicate, object, complement; it's serious.

Examples

The old man's smiling face, three words do not agree, so he put in two eyes and called the general. The 35th chapter of biography of children heroes by Wen Kang of Qing Dynasty

Idiom story

Bao Zheng was born in Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui Province) in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Duanzhou's inkstones are very famous. In the name of Shanggong, the former Zhizhou collected dozens of inkstones at will to curry favor with his superiors. After Bao Zheng took office, he ordered that only the number of tribute court should be built, not more than one, and the burden of the common people was lightened. When he served as the Deputy envoy of the household Department of the third division, Khitan once assembled troops at the border, and the counties along the border gradually became tense. The imperial court sent Bao Zheng to Hebei to dispatch military supplies. Bao Zheng said: "the land in Zhanghe area is fertile, but the people can't cultivate it. There are 15000 hectares of land in three states of Xing and Zhao, but they are used to herd horses, asking for all the land to be cultivated by the people." It benefits the people of Hebei.

When Bao Zheng was the official of Kaifeng Prefecture, it was difficult to manage because he was the capital. According to the previous regulations, the people should first write a complaint, and then ask the officials to pass it in. Bao Zheng broke this rule and opened the door of the government to let the common people directly come to the court to make a statement. In this way, the officials could no longer do anything. Once, there was a flood in Kaifeng, but the water couldn't drain out. The reason for Bao Zheng's investigation was that many dignitaries built many gardens and pavilions on the dredged river. Bao Zheng asked them to tear them down. A dignitary refused to demolish it and took out a lease saying that the land was his. Bao Zheng inspected carefully and found that the title deed was forged. Bao Zheng immediately demolished his garden and played the song of emperor Renzong. Then the flood subsided.

(from the history of Song Dynasty volume 316)

Chinese PinYin : xiào bǐ hé qīng