Idiom Explanation:
Like a cicada in late autumn, it does not say a word. The cicadas are afraid to speak out of fear and concern.
Pronunciation:
噤若寒蝉
jìn ruò hán chán
Origin book:
《后汉书·杜密传》：刘胜位为大夫，见礼上宾，而知善不荐，闻恶无言，隐情惜己，自同寒蝉，此罪人也。
Origin Story:
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Du Mi, who was a generous person, a clean official, upright and law-abiding. During his tenure as a governor, he participated in the struggle against the eunuchs and enforced the law strictly, punishing the sons and daughters of the eunuchs whenever they were guilty. As he grew old, Du Mi retired to his hometown. As a common saying goes, “no official is light”, but Du Mi still paid close attention to the affairs of the state. He often visited local officials such as the governor of Yingchuan and the magistrate of Yangcheng County to discuss the world’s major issues, and constantly recommended the good people of local officials to the officials, criticizing and exposing the bad people.
At that time, there was an official named Liu Sheng who was a friend of Du Mi’s from his hometown. Liu Sheng was formerly the governor of Shu County but later resigned and returned to his hometown. Liu Sheng was the opposite of Du Mi. The man resigned and returned to his hometown, he pursued the idea of protecting himself, closed his door to guests, did not ask about political affairs, and did not care about good people and bad people. Once, Du Mi came to Wang Yu’s house, the governor of Yingchuan, to reflect some of the situation in the countryside. During the conversation, Wang Yu talked about Liu Sheng’s situation to Du Mi, praising Liu Sheng as a “noble man” and a “good gentleman”, and his unconcerned lifestyle in his old age was praised by the local officials.
Du Mi heard the intention of Wang Yu’s words, which was to praise Liu Sheng, but in fact to criticize himself for being “nosy”. He said, “Liu Sheng was originally a dafu, and a man of his high position should do more for the country and the people. But he did not recommend good people, and did not dare to expose and criticize the evil people, and kept to himself, just like a cold day, he did not say a word. He only wants to be safe and sound himself, but he is not responsible for the country. Such a person is actually a sinner, so what is there to praise? I, on the other hand, am the opposite of him, for when I find a virtuous man, I will recommend him to you, and when I find a bad man, I will expose him to you, so that you can punish him clearly and promote good and eliminate evil.
After listening to these words, Wang Yu then saw Du Mi’s generosity of heart for the world, and while ashamed, he greatly admired Du Mi’s high moral character, and thereafter, treated Du Mi with more respect and generosity.
Similar Idioms:
- 缄口结舌
