Dong Hu holds a pen and writes, this idiom refers to a historian or historian who is honest and upright in recording historical events.
Idiom Pronunciation:
董狐直笔
dǒng hú zhí bǐ
Origin book:
《左传·宣公二年》：“宣子曰：‘不然。’对曰：‘子为正卿，亡不越竟，反不讨贼，非子而谁？’孔子曰：‘董狐古之良史也，书法不隐。’”
Origin Story:
In 621 B.C., the Duke of Jin died of illness and was succeeded by his son Yigao as Duke Ling of Jin, who was seven years old when he was replaced by Zhao Dun, a minister and marshal of the army. The Duke of Jin was a brutal man by nature and after his reign, he was extravagant and indiscriminate in killing innocent people. Zhao Dun’s repeated advice was unsuccessful, but he was regarded as a thorn in his side and wanted to get rid of him before he could. The Duke conspired with his minister Tu An Jia to send an assassin to assassinate Zhao Dun. When the assassin entered his palace at night, he saw that Zhao Dun slept late and woke up early, and that he was loyal and diligent in his administration.
When the Duke of Jin failed to get rid of Zhao Dun, he asked Tu Xian Jia to train a fierce wolf dog and pretend to summon Zhao Dun to the palace for a drink, waiting for an opportunity to release the dog to pounce on Zhao Dun. The Duke of Jin ordered the warriors who were in ambush to kill Zhao Dun, but Timiming defended him and retreated. Fortunately, a warrior who had saved Zhao Dun’s life, Ling Yi, gave up his life to protect him and he escaped the tiger. When he arrived outside the palace, his son came to meet him with his family. Not daring to go back to the palace, they hurried out of the west gate and prepared to flee abroad. On their way to the palace, they met their younger brother, Zhao Jun, who was returning from a hunting trip. After asking him the reason, he advised him not to leave Jin, but to think about it from a longer time. So, Zhao Dun and his son took refuge in Hedong for a while.
When he returned to the city, he used a trick to gain the trust of the Duke of Jin and sent the sycophant Tu An Jia abroad under the pretext of searching for beautiful women from all over the world. Later, when the Duke went to the Peach Garden to drink and enjoy himself, he commanded his trusted guards to kill him. He then took Zhao Dun back to Jiangcheng, the capital of the state, and installed his youngest son, Hei Huzi, as the ruler of the state.
The whole country applauded the death of Duke Ling of Jin, who had been violent and unjust. However, Zhao Dun felt that the reputation of plotting to kill the king was not good for the Zhao family, which had been loyal for generations. One day, he summoned Dong Xu, the official historian, and asked him to read a brief history of the state’s events. Zhao Dun was astonished and said in defence: “You are mistaken, Taishis! Who does not know that I did not kill the late ruler, and how can I be blamed for it when I was on the run?” Dong Hu said righteously, “As a minister, you are in charge of state affairs. Although you fled, you did not leave the state, and you did not punish the murderer when you returned to the capital, so who else could have been the mastermind of this matter if not you?” “Can it be amended?” Zhao Dun consulted. “Right and wrong are clearly distinguished, and this is true history. Dong Hu’s head can be severed, but this brief cannot be changed!” Dong Hu did not shirk his power and argued his case. Zhao Dun had no choice but to give up.
Later generations derived the idiom of “Dong Hu holds a pen and writes” from this story.
