outwardly strong , inwardly weak(yáng zhì hǔ pí)

outwardly strong , inwardly weak

Sheep's tiger skin, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is y á ngzh ì h ǔ P í, which means that although sheep are covered with tiger skin, they still like grass and shiver when they meet jackals. Its nature has not changed. A metaphor for pretending to be powerful but actually timid. From Su Shu.

Analysis of Idioms

[synonym] embroidered pillow, strong on the outside, strong in the middle, tiger like sheep, fierce in color and weak on the inside

The origin of Idioms

In the plain book written by Huang Shigong of the Han Dynasty, it is said that "those who discard jade and take stone are blind, while those who are made of sheep's tiger skin are soft."

Idiom usage

Combined; as object and attribute; with derogatory meaning. "My son" in volume 4 of FA Yan Yi Shu, or "someone Yan, from the cloud surname Kong, and the word Zhongni.". Is it Zhongni who enters the gate, ascends the hall, subdues the body and attacks the clothes? He said, "its writing is also true, but its quality is not.". "Dare to ask questions. He said, "the quality of the sheep is the skin of the tiger. When you see the grass, you speak. When you see the Jackal fighting, you forget the skin of the tiger. Pei Songzhi of the Southern Song Dynasty quoted the book of Wu in Volume 65 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, which said: "when you are at a meeting, because you are drunk, you often make your courtiers laugh at you. Wan Yu, who was Prime Minister Zuo, said, "fish dive in the abyss, and the water is warm.". What is it? Things have their own nature and can't be separated. He comes from a valley. He's a sheep of tiger skin. He's favored by Guanghe. He's over thirty-nine years old. Dogs and horses can still be raised. How can he repay him for his kindness! He said, "in the Tang Dynasty, there was no talent to be falsely cited, and there was no quality of being a bad father. He falsely accused Mingxuan and talked about Zhengan. How could it hurt the sun and the moon. In the third and second chapter of the romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong of Ming Dynasty, "Yuan Shao died of vomiting blood. Later generations have a poem that says," if you carry 3000 heroes in the air, you will have millions of heroes; if you don't succeed, you can't succeed. " Wang Shimao of the Ming Dynasty wrote in the collection of poems from the art garden: "if a small poem wants to be Wang Wei and a long one wants to be Lao Du, it should be in its whole body. First, it should not be made of sheep's skin, tiger's head and snake's tail."

Idioms and allusions

Yang Kan, the son of Yang Zhi, the general of Longzhi in the Northern Wei Dynasty, was tall and burly. When he was a teenager, he went to battle with his father and made great achievements. The emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty called him into the court, deliberately said that he was sheep tiger skin, let him learn the look of a tiger, Yang Kan's fingers scratched ten holes on the floor, really like a tiger, the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty called him a real warrior.

Chinese PinYin : yáng zhì hǔ pí