曾參殺人

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Chinese

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Zengzi to kill someone; to murder
trad. (曾參殺人) 殺人
simp. (曾参杀人) 杀人

Etymology

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A tale in Zhan Guo Ce:

昔者曾子曾子殺人曾子:「曾參殺人。』曾子:『殺人。』自若有頃:『曾參殺人。』自若頃之一人:『曾參殺人。』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
昔者曾子曾子杀人曾子:「曾参杀人。』曾子:『杀人。』自若有顷:『曾参杀人。』自若顷之一人:『曾参杀人。』 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5th – 3rd centuries BCE
Xīzhě Zēngzǐ chù Fèi, Fèi rén yǒu yǔ Zēngzǐ tóng míng zú zhě ér shārén, rén gào Zēngzǐ mǔ yuē: “Zēng Shēn shārén.’ Zēngzǐ zhī mǔ yuē: ‘Wú zhě bù shārén.’ Zhì zìruò. Yǒuqǐng yān, rén yòu yuē: ‘Zēng Shēn shārén.’ Qí mǔ shàng zhì zìruò yě. Qǐngzhī, yīrén yòu gào zhī yuē: ‘Zēng Shēn shārén.’ Qí mǔ jù, tóu zhù yú qiáng ér zǒu. [Pinyin]
In the past when Zengzi (real name Zeng Shen) was living in Fei County, there was a man who had the same name as him committed murder. Somebody then informed Zengzi’s mother, “Zeng Shen committed murder.” Zengzi's mother replied, “My son will never commit a murder,” and she kept calm. A short while later, another person informed her, “Zeng Shen committed murder.” She still kept calm. A short while later, yet another person informed her, “Zeng Shen committed murder.” Zengzi's mother feared, cast aside her weaving shuttle, leapt across the walls, and fled.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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曾參殺人

  1. (figurative) Used as an example to show that the effects of rumours can be fearsome.