with a severe countenance and a harsh voice(zhèng yán lì sè)

with a severe countenance and a harsh voice

It is a Chinese idiom, the Pinyin is zh è n ɡ y á NL ì s è, which means to describe a straight face with a very severe look. It comes from the biography of Wang Mang in the history of Han Dynasty.

Idiom explanation

Zheng: severe; Li: severe, serious; color: face.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Wang Mang in the history of Han Dynasty, it is said that "Xu Heng is fierce in color, and his anger is aroused."

Idiom usage

Combined; as predicate, adverbial; with commendatory meaning. Examples: biography of Zhai in the book of the later Han Dynasty: "seeing Zhengrong, hearing Zhengyan." When Daiyu saw the seriousness of what he said, she thought it was true. The 19th chapter of a dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin in Qing Dynasty

Idiom story

Jia Baoyu went to visit Lin Daiyu. Just as she was sleeping, she went to wake her up. Daiyu deliberately ignored him. Baoyu suddenly came up with an idea to tell her the story of rat essence stealing sweet potato in linzidong, Daishan, Yangzhou. When Daiyu saw that he was serious, she thought it was true. Later, she found out that she was making fun of her.

Chinese PinYin : zhèng yán lì sè