Chinese Idiom 汉语成语：三人成虎 others, Chinese, believe, 汉语成语, repeated

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Chinese Idiom 汉语成语：三人成虎 A repeated slander makes others believe

战国时期，中原各国间的战事、合盟不断。魏国与赵国正准备签订一份联盟协议。按照当时的惯例，魏王必须把太子送到赵国作为人质。 魏国大臣庞聪，将要陪魏太子到赵国去作人质。                    庞聪临行前对魏王说：“如果有人说街市上出现了老虎，大王会相信吗？”                    魏王道：“我不相信。”                    庞聪说：“如果有第二个人说街市上出现了老虎，大王可相信吗？”                    魏王道：“这样的话，我有些将信将疑了。”                    庞聪又说：“如果有第三个人说街市上出现了老虎，大王相信吗？”                    魏王道：“我当然会相信。”                    庞聪就说：“街市上不会有老虎，这是很明显的事，可是经过三个人一说，好像真的有了老虎了。现在赵国离大王您的宫殿，比这里的街市远了许多。我确信议论我的人又不止三个。希望大王明察才好。”                    魏王道：“我知道了。我保证会相信你的。不要担心。去吧。”                    庞聪陪太子离开后，果然他的仇敌一个个都在魏王面前说他的坏话。起先，魏王并不理睬他们。但过了一阵子，他听了很多关于庞聪谗言后，他开始怀疑他了。当太子和庞聪终于被释，回国             后，魏王根本就不再召见庞聪了。                    三人成虎这个成语就是由这个故事而来的，它指出谣言就像老虎那样可怕。

战事 war 合盟 appliance 签订 sign 协议 treaty 人质 hostage 大臣 minister 明显 obvious 宫殿 palace 谗言 rumor

A repeated slander makes others believe

In the Warring States Period(475――221BC)， there were countless wars and alliances between the many small states in China. Now, the State of Wei and the State of Zhao were getting ready to sign a treaty of alliance. As was usual at the time, the king of Wei had to send his son to Zhao as a hostage. A minister, Pang Cong, was to accompany him.                   Before they left, Pang Cong said to the king: "If someone told you that there was a tiger in the street, would you believe it?"                    "No,I wouldn't," replied the king.                    "If two people said that, would you believe it?" the minister asked.                    "In that case, I would hesitate. I'd have my doubts," answered the king.                    The minister went on, "if three people said there's a tiger in the street, would you believe it then?"                    "Of course I would," was the answer.                    Then Pang Cong said: "It is strange, isn't it, that even when it's obvious there's no tiger in the street, you would believe there is one just because three people say so. Now, we're going to live in the State of Zhao that is far further away from Your Majesty's palace than the street. I'm sure there'll be a lot of rumors about me when I've gone. So I hope Your Majesty will be perceptive."             Hearing this, the king said," I know that. You can rest assured that I have every trust in you. Don't worry. Off you go."                    After Pang Cong left with the prince, sure enough, his enemies spoke ill of him in front of the king. One after another, they told their stories. At first, the king paid no attention to them. But after a while, when he had heard enough rumors about the minister, he began to suspect Pang Cong.                    When the prince and the minister were finally freed as hostages, they returned to the State of Wei. The king didn't even summon Pang Cong to the palace!                    From that story comes the idiom San Ren Cheng Hu. The idiom also suggests that gossip can be as ferocious as a tiger.

Chinese Idiom 汉语成语

簿子酒

A repeated slander makes others believe