Idiom Explanation:
It refers to a person whose words and actions are erratic and contradictory.
Pronunciation:
出尔反尔
chū ěr fǎn ěr
Origin:
战国·孟轲《孟子·梁惠王下》：“戒之，戒之！出乎尔者，反乎尔者也。”
Story:
During the Warring States period, there were seven powerful vassal states, known as the “Seven Heroes of the Warring States”. But don’t think that these seven vassals were the only ones that existed at that time, in fact, outside of these seven great powers, there were also many small states. The wars were not only between the big states, but also between the small vassal states.
Once, the state of Zou and the state of Lu had a war, because the state of Zou is weaker than the state of Lu, although Zou Mugong led the people and soldiers of Zou to resist, finally Zou still ate the defeat, Zou Mugong’s officials died a total of 33 people, while the people who took part in the battle did not die. During the battle, they looked on as if they were watching from the sidelines, not bothering to charge and kill the enemy at all. Duke Zou Mu was very unhappy, so he looked for someone to vent his anger on. Coincidentally, this person was no other than Mencius, who was later known as the Sage of Asia by the Chinese.
Duke Zou Mu asked Mencius, “In this war, 33 of my officers were killed, but none of the common people fought for them. They watched their officers being killed and did not go to rescue them, which is really hateful! If I kill these people, there are too many of them to be killed; if I don’t kill them, I can’t get rid of the hatred in my heart. What should I do?” Mencius was a straight talker. Mencius said, “This is not the people’s fault, but your own.”
Duke Zou Mu’s eyes widened, and you could see that he was surprised. But Mencius ignored him and continued, “I remember one year there was a famine, the old and weak died of starvation in the ravines and wilderness, and the strong men fled the famine by the thousands, and strayed into any country. But the king’s granaries were still full, and the treasury was well supplied, and the officials in charge of money and grain did not report this serious calamity to you. This is not ordinary negligence, this is simply not taking the life and death of the common people into account. Think about it, in the beginning you treated them like this, and today they treat you with the same slowness, so what do you have to report?”
Duke Zou Mu bit his lip and did not speak. Mencius went on, “There is a saying of Zeng Zi’s, have you heard of it?” Duke Zou Mu shook his head.
Mencius continued, “Zeng Zi said, ‘Precept upon precept! Those who go out of the way, go against the way.’ The meaning of this saying is, “Be vigilant! How you treat others is how they treat you. What is happening in Zou is the best illustration of this famous saying of Zeng Zi. Now that the people have a chance to retaliate, they will have to use the same means to treat those governors.”
“What is to be done then?” Duke Zou Mu asked humbly, feeling that there was some truth in what Mencius had said. Mencius told Duke Zou Mu, “It is not difficult to do, you can practise benevolent rule, ah, after practising benevolent rule, the people will all be grateful to you, and will love their officers, and will be willing to charge and kill the enemy for the country.”
