Calling A Deer A Horse
One Chinese idiom that is derived from an incident involving Zhao is "calling a deer a horse" (simplified Chinese: 指鹿为马; traditional Chinese: 指鹿為馬; pinyin: zhǐ lù wéi mǎ), meaning "deliberate misrepresentation for ulterior purposes". The Shiji records that Zhao, in an attempt to control the government, devised a loyalty test for court officials using a deer and horse:
Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao. (tr. Watson 1993:70)
Read more about this topic: Zhao Gao
Famous quotes containing the words calling, deer and/or horse:
“When I was in high school I thought a vocation was a particular calling. Here’s a voice: “Come, follow me.” My idea of a calling now is not: “Come.” It’s like what I’m doing right now, not what I’m going to be. Life is a calling.”
—Rebecca Sweeney (b. 1938)
“A deer in the body of a woman, living resentfully in the Hollywood zoo.”
—Clare Boothe Luce (1903–1987)
“People do not think themselves ugly, just as no horse thinks its face is long.”
—Chinese proverb.