Harboring
Evil Designs
| Characters: |
 |
Pronunciation:
Xin(1) Huai(2) Po(3) Ce(4)
Explanation:
Said of someone with unpredictable evil intentions.
The
Story: At the end
of the Eastern Han Dynasty, before Cao Cao
started an expedition against the south, he
feared that Ma Teng, governor of Liangzhou,
might attack his capital Luoyang during his
absence. His advisor Xun You suggested placing
the title of General of the Southern Expedition
on Ma Teng with the intention of luring him
into the capital and then killing him.
Cao
Cao then did so. When Ma Teng received the
edict, he discussed with his son and nephew
whether he should go to the capital or not.
His son Ma Chao said that he should go while
his nephew Ma Tai advised against it. Ma Tai
said: "Cao Cao is a treacherous fellow
who harbours evil designs. If you go, you
will probably meet death at his hands."
Unheeding Ma Tai's warning, Ma Teng led five
thousand soldiers and went to the capital
where he was indeed murdered by Cao Cao.
Usage
Example (Pinyin): qian(1) wan(4) bu(4)
yao(4) he zhe(4) yang(4) xin(1) huai(2) po(3)
ce(4) de ren jiao(1) peng(2) you(3)
Usage
Example (English translation): Never make
friends with such a "harbouring evil
designs" person.
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.
