During the Lunar New Year holiday, Xu, who has almost 40 million followers across social media platforms, posted a video claiming she had found a Chinese elementary student’s winter vacation homework in a Paris restaurant’s bathroom. The video gained 5 million likes within days before it was exposed as a hoax. The incident is listed as one of 10 representative misinformation cases by China’s Ministry of Public Security. Yet as several idioms with ancient roots suggest, China’s fight against rumors (谣言) dates back thousands of years. Some of these chengyus are still in use today.
Three people make a tiger
Pang Gong was from the State of Wei. He was sent as a hostage (人质) to the State of Zhao. Before he left, Pang talked to the king of Wei, cautioning him against potential future rumors of Pang’s betrayal (背叛) that Pang felt sure would spread once he was gone.
“If one says they saw a tiger in the streets, would you believe it?” Pang asked the king.
“No,” the king responded.
“What if a second person claims the same?” Pang inquired.
“Still having doubts,” the king said.
“And if a third person asserts (断言) it?”
“Then I’d believe it’s true,” the king answered.
Pang’s warning coined the idiom “three people make a tiger.” The phrase is still commonly used today to describe how repeated lies can become accepted truths.
A shortcut in Zhongnan Mountain
Lu Cangyong, a scholar during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), was a talented man who received little recognition for his work in the government. Lu decided to become a hermit (隐士), a group that was respected for their learning and wisdom. He hid in Zhongnan Mountain near the capital Chang’an while spreading the word about his commitment to a life of hermits. Lu’s reputation soon soared, and later the court promoted him. Years later, Lu met Sima Chengzhen, a genuine Daoist hermit from Zhongnan Mountain. Sima quipped that the best thing about the mountain was that it contained a shortcut to a successful career.
Fake short videos have become the new “shortcut in Zhongnan Mountain” to gain traffic and exposure online.
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