金玉其外，敗絮其中

See also: 金玉其外，败絮其中

Chinese

		gold and jade; treasured thing; ornate object	outside; exterior; besides		worn cotton wool	in; among; therein
trad. (金玉其外，敗絮其中)		金玉	其外	，	敗絮	其中
simp. (金玉其外，败絮其中)		金玉	其外	，	败絮	其中

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jīnyù qíwài, bàixù qízhōng

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄣ ㄩˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄨㄞˋ , ㄅㄞˋ ㄒㄩˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄓㄨㄥ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gam¹ juk⁶ kei⁴ ngoi⁶, baai⁶ seoi⁵ kei⁴ zung¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīnyù qíwài, bàixù qízhōng
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄣ ㄩˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄨㄞˋ , ㄅㄞˋ ㄒㄩˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄓㄨㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jinyù cíwài, bàisyù cíjhong
    • Wade–Giles: chin¹-yü⁴ chʻi²-wai⁴, pai⁴-hsü⁴ chʻi²-chung¹
    • Yale: jīn-yù chí-wài-, bài-syù chí-jūng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jinyuh chyiway, bayshiuh chyijong
    • Palladius: цзиньюй цивай, байсюй цичжун (czinʹjuj civaj, bajsjuj cičžun)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕin⁵⁵ y⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ waɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ paɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕy⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gam¹ juk⁶ kei⁴ ngoi⁶, baai⁶ seoi⁵ kei⁴ zung¹
    • Yale: gām yuhk kèih ngoih, baaih séuih kèih jūng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gam¹ juk⁹ kei⁴ ngoi⁶, baai⁶ soey⁵ kei⁴ dzung¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gem¹ yug⁶ kéi⁴ ngoi⁶, bai⁶ sêu⁵ kéi⁴ zung¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐm⁵⁵ jʊk̚² kʰei̯²¹ ŋɔːi̯²² paːi̯²² sɵy̯¹³ kʰei̯²¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵/

Etymology

From a satirical prose of Liu Ji (1311-1375):

觀其坐高堂、騎大馬，醉醇醴而飫肥鮮者，孰不巍巍乎可畏，赫赫乎可象也？又何往而不金玉其外，敗絮其中也哉？今子是之不察，而以察吾柑！ [MSC, trad.]

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观其坐高堂、骑大马，醉醇醴而饫肥鲜者，孰不巍巍乎可畏，赫赫乎可象也？又何往而不金玉其外，败絮其中也哉？今子是之不察，而以察吾柑！ [MSC, simp.]

From: c. 14th century, Liu Ji, 《賣柑者言》 ("What the Orange Vendor Said")

Guān qí zuò gāotáng, qí dàmǎ, zuì chúnlǐ ér yù féixiān zhě, shú bù wēiwēihū kěwèi, hèhèhū kě xiàng yě? Yòu héwǎng'ér bù jīnyù qíwài, bàixù qízhōng yě zāi? Jīn zǐ shì zhī bù chá, ér yǐ chá wú gān! [Pinyin]

Look at them! They are sitting in great halls, riding on big horses, intoxicated with good wine, and stuffed with delicious food. Aren't they so awe-inspiring as to intimidate the common people and so imposing as to call forth people's admiration? Aren't they all having a foul interior beneath a fair exterior? Now you are complaining about the oranges instead of these people!

Idiom

金玉其外，敗絮其中

1. (figurative) gilded exterior, shabby and ruined on the inside; fly in the ointment; a sugarcoated bitter pill; fair without, foul within