Outwardly Strong But Inwardly Shriveled

Characters:

Pronunciation: Wai(4) Qiang(2) Zhong(1) Gan(1)

Explanation: Meaning powerful in appearance but hollow inside.

The Story: During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a war between the state of Qin and the state of Jin. When Duke Mu of Qin led his army to Han in the state of Jin, Duke Hui of Jin prepared to resist with his army and had a fine horse from the state of Zheng harnessed to his chariot. His minister Qing Zheng advised him: "Since ancient times, people have always used horses of their own country to fight battles. Because they are adapted to the local conditions, know the roads and answer to bidding, they are usually the best! But a foreign horse does not know all of that, even though it looks strong. It just looks outwardly strong but inwardly shrivelled. It will bolt and neigh in the confusion of a battle and refuse to heed your directions. And you will be defeated. I am sure you will regret it when you find yourself being unable to advance and withdraw."

Unfortunately, Duke Hui did not accept Qing Zheng's advice and as soon as the drums of battle began to sound, the horse from the state of Zheng became alarmed and uncontrollable. The chariot was bogged down in a quagmire and could not advance or retreat. The Jin army was utterly defeated and Duke Hui himself was captured by the Qin army.

Usage Example (Pinyin): Di(2) ren(2) shi(4) wai(4) qiang(2) zhong(1) gan(1) le.

Usage Example (English translation): The enemy is outwardly strong, but inwardly shriveled.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.