Idiom the First

Calling a Stag a Horse (Lit. ‘Point deer as/is  horse’)

Story behind the idiom:

During the reign of the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty (Qin Er Shi), his chief minister, a eunuch called Zhao Gao, exerted great influence over the court. He started to plot to usurp the throne. Fearing that other ministers would oppose this, he readied a test for them.

When they were assembled in front of the emperor, he brought out a deer as a gift and said “This is a horse.”

The emperor laughed, and replied “You must be joking; this is a deer!”

Zhao turned to the ministers and said “Well, tell the Emperor… is this a deer or a horse?”

Some ministers kept silent, some said that it was a deer and others agreed that it was indeed a horse. Those who hadn’t called it a horse were promptly executed

Meaning of the Idiom: Distorting facts, calling black white and white black.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.