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狐假虎威 (Hújiăhŭwēi) To Bully Others by Flaunting One’s Powerful Connections

Mar. 16, 2015

Chinese idiom story: 狐假虎威(Hújiăhŭwēi)

Zài sēnlín lĭ,   láohŭ shì zuì xiōngmĕng de yĕshòu.
在森林里,老虎是最凶猛的野兽。
The tiger is the most ferocious animal in the forest.

Yì tiān, tā zhuōdào yì zhī  húli, jiăohuá de húli  jiù shuō:”Nĭ zĕn me găn chī wŏ? Wŏ shì tiāndì rènmìng lái guánlĭ suóyŏu yĕshòu de,  nĭ yào chī le wŏ, jiù shì wéikàng tiānyì.
一 天,它捉到一只狐狸,狡猾的狐狸就说:“你怎么敢吃我?我是天帝任命来管理所有野兽的,你要吃了我, 就是违抗天意。”
One day, a tiger caught a fox. The cunning fox said: “How dare you! I am the one that God assigned to rule over the other animals.”

Láohŭ yì tīng lèng zhù le.  Húli măshàng jiēzhe shuō: “Nĭ yào shì bú xìn,  jiù gēn zài wŏ hòumian zŏuyítàng, kànkan shì bu shì suóyŏu de dòngwù jiàn le wŏ dōu hàipà. Yúshì láohŭ juédìng gēnzhe húli qù kànkan.
老虎一听愣住了。狐狸马上接着说: “你要是不信, 就跟在我后面走一趟,看看是不是所有的动物见了我都害怕。” 于是老虎决定跟着狐狸去看看。
The tiger was shocked. The fox told the tiger to walk behind him through the forest so he could show him what he meant, and the tiger agreed.

Guŏrán, dòngwù men dōu xià dé yào mìng, sì chù bēn táo. Láohŭ yĭwéi tāmen zhēn shì bèi húli xià păo de, yúshì xiāngxìn le húli de huà,  bă tā fàng le.
果然,动物们都吓得要命,四处奔逃。老虎以为它们真是被狐狸吓跑的,于是相信了狐狸的话,把它放了。
As they walked, all the animals were scared and ran away quickly, so the tiger believed the fox’s words and freed him.

Another Interesting Story About a ”母老虎 (Mǔlǎohǔ)-Tigress”

This story is widely known all over China. The cunning fox uses the tiger’s power to scare others, but if the tiger realized the trick, he would kill him.

Now Chinese people usually use it to describe someone who bullies others by flaunting his powerful connections. He may enjoy his power for a short time, but he will be sorely punished when his trick is exposed.

You may be interested in more Chinese idioms:

Chinese Idiom: 对牛弹琴 (Duì niú tán qín) To Play the Harp to A Cow

掩耳盗铃 (Yăn’ĕr dàolíng) To cover one’s ears when he steals the bell

Chinese Idiom: 纸上谈兵 (Zhǐshàngtánbīng) Armchair Strategy

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