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一丘之貉 (yi1 qiu1 zhi1 he4) Outspoken to death
January 24, 2010, Sunday
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"yi1 qiu1 zhi1 he4" meaning " jackals from the same lair," could be considered one of the most deadly expressions of the Chinese language.
It is so regarded because it brought death to the outspoken official who first used the phrase some 20 centuries ago.
Yang Yun was a high-ranking aide to Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).
He believed in clean government and was known as one of the few truly impartial and incorruptible officials of the time.
But he also had made many enemies because of his unwavering stand against corruption and his iron-clad determination to bringing court scandals to light.
One day, while he was riding through the streets with some of his colleagues, a horse suddenly shied and galloped out of the northern city gate.
"The last time a horse shied and ran into a city gate, it was just several days until Emperor Zhao died," Yang commented. "Maybe today's incident also is a harbinger of the same."
Emperor Xuan was very unhappy when he heard about Yang's remarks, but the outspoken official was not about to be silenced.
Yang spoke out again a few months later when he learned that a Han tribal chieftain had killed himself because he was opposed by people who hated his tyrannical rule.
"Unpopular rulers who refuse to listen to criticism and suggestions made by upright officials are bound to die in disgrace," he said publicly. "Such autocratic rulers are jackals from the same lair."
This time his remarks were taken as a direct attack on the imperial court and the emperor himself. So Emperor Xuan decided that Yang must be punished.
At first, he relieved Yang of all his posts and expelled him from the imperial court. As Yang continued to condemn the court's practices, the emperor ordered his execution.
Today, the expression "y(r)(c) q(r)(c)u zh(r)(c) h(r)(r)" is used by Chinese speakers in much the same way as the English expressions "birds of a feather" or "tigers from the same den," except the Chinese saying has an unequivocally derogatory connotation.
It is so regarded because it brought death to the outspoken official who first used the phrase some 20 centuries ago.
Yang Yun was a high-ranking aide to Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).
He believed in clean government and was known as one of the few truly impartial and incorruptible officials of the time.
But he also had made many enemies because of his unwavering stand against corruption and his iron-clad determination to bringing court scandals to light.
One day, while he was riding through the streets with some of his colleagues, a horse suddenly shied and galloped out of the northern city gate.
"The last time a horse shied and ran into a city gate, it was just several days until Emperor Zhao died," Yang commented. "Maybe today's incident also is a harbinger of the same."
Emperor Xuan was very unhappy when he heard about Yang's remarks, but the outspoken official was not about to be silenced.
Yang spoke out again a few months later when he learned that a Han tribal chieftain had killed himself because he was opposed by people who hated his tyrannical rule.
"Unpopular rulers who refuse to listen to criticism and suggestions made by upright officials are bound to die in disgrace," he said publicly. "Such autocratic rulers are jackals from the same lair."
This time his remarks were taken as a direct attack on the imperial court and the emperor himself. So Emperor Xuan decided that Yang must be punished.
At first, he relieved Yang of all his posts and expelled him from the imperial court. As Yang continued to condemn the court's practices, the emperor ordered his execution.
Today, the expression "y(r)(c) q(r)(c)u zh(r)(c) h(r)(r)" is used by Chinese speakers in much the same way as the English expressions "birds of a feather" or "tigers from the same den," except the Chinese saying has an unequivocally derogatory connotation.
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