Idiom Explanation:
外强中干：Refers to being strong in appearance but weak in reality.
Pronunciation:
外强中干
wài qiáng zhōng gān
Origin:
春秋·左丘明《左传·僖公十五年》：今乘异产以从戎事，及惧而变，……外强中干，进退不可，周旋不能，君必悔之。
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn Period, after the death of Duke Xian of Jin, Duke Yiwu of Jin ended his life as a fugitive and returned to Jin to inherit the throne as the king of the state. During his fugitive life, Yiwu promised Duke Mu of Qin that if he could return to the kingdom one day, he would cede five towns to Qin as a favor to save his life. However, after becoming the king, Yiwu did not fulfill his promise.
Later, when Qin was suffering from a famine, Duke Hui of Jin did not help Qin, and Duke Mu of Qin held a grudge for this. Later, Duke Mu of Qin sent an army to attack Jin, and soon reached a town in Jin.
In order to resist the powerful Qin army, Duke Hui of Jin personally led the resistance. He ordered that the horses pulling the chariot must use the horses given by Zheng to drive. The minister Qing Zheng advised Duke Hui, “Since ancient times, when fighting a war, you should use a good horse from your own country, because it is native to the land, knows the roads and obeys the commands. If you use a foreign horse, it is not easy to handle and will kick and scream when you meet with an accident. And this kind of horse seems to be strong in appearance, but in fact there is no ability (the original is “strong in the middle”). If you encounter an accident, you can’t go in or out, and it’s too late to regret, so how can you fight? If you want to use them or not, you will surely regret it.”
Duke Hui did not listen to Qing Zheng’s advice. The armies of Qin and Jin engaged in battle again. The earth-shaking shouting and killing caused Zheng’s horses to be frightened out of control, and they ran wildly with the chariot and soon got into the mud.
The horses were screaming and struggling, but they got deeper and deeper and could not move back and forth. The Duke of Jin was at his wits’ end and the Jin army was defeated, and he became a prisoner of Qin.
Similar Idioms:
- 色厉内茬
