Chinese Fable

狐假虎威🔊

Hú Jiǎ Hǔ Wēi
📚 Fables⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This classic fable tells the story of a clever fox who tricks a tiger by borrowing its authority.

The Story 🔊

Cóng qián yì zhī lǎohǔ zài sēnlín lǐ zhuō dào le yì zhī húli
从前Cóng qián🔊一只yì zhī🔊老虎lǎohǔ🔊zài🔊森林里sēnlín lǐ🔊捉到了zhuō dào le🔊一只yì zhī🔊狐狸húli🔊
Húli duì lǎohǔ shuō nǐ bù gǎn chī wǒ yīnwèi wǒ shì Tiāndì pài lái guǎnlǐ bǎi shòu de
狐狸Húli🔊duì🔊老虎lǎohǔ🔊shuō🔊🔊不敢bù gǎn🔊吃我chī wǒ🔊因为yīnwèi🔊我是wǒ shì🔊天帝Tiāndì🔊派来pài lái🔊管理guǎnlǐ🔊百兽的bǎi shòu de🔊
Rúguǒ nǐ chī le wǒ jiù shì wéikàng Tiāndì de mìnglìng
如果Rúguǒ🔊🔊吃了我chī le wǒ🔊就是jiù shì🔊违抗wéikàng🔊天帝的Tiāndì de🔊命令mìnglìng🔊
Lǎohǔ bàn xìn bàn yí húli shuō nǐ gēn zài wǒ hòumiàn zǒu yí tàng jiù zhīdào le
老虎Lǎohǔ🔊半信半疑bàn xìn bàn yí🔊狐狸húli🔊shuō🔊🔊跟在gēn zài🔊🔊后面hòumiàn🔊走一趟zǒu yí tàng🔊就知道了jiù zhīdào le🔊
Yúshì húli dà yáo dà bǎi de zǒu zài qiánmiàn lǎohǔ gēn zài hòumiàn
于是Yúshì🔊狐狸húli🔊大摇大摆地dà yáo dà bǎi de🔊走在前面zǒu zài qiánmiàn🔊老虎lǎohǔ🔊跟在后面gēn zài hòumiàn🔊
Xiǎo dòngwù men kàndào húli hòumiàn de lǎohǔ dōu xià de pīnmìng táopǎo
小动物们Xiǎo dòngwù men🔊看到kàndào🔊狐狸后面的húli hòumiàn de🔊老虎lǎohǔ🔊dōu🔊吓得xià de🔊拼命逃跑pīnmìng táopǎo🔊
Lǎohǔ yǐwéi dòngwù men hàipà húli jiù xiāngxìn le tā de huà bǎ tā fàng zǒu le
老虎Lǎohǔ🔊以为yǐwéi🔊动物们dòngwù men🔊害怕hàipà🔊狐狸húli🔊jiù🔊相信了xiāngxìn le🔊它的话tā de huà🔊把它放走了bǎ tā fàng zǒu le🔊
English Translation:
Once upon a time, a tiger caught a fox in the forest. The fox said: "You dare not eat me, for I was sent by the Emperor of Heaven to rule over all beasts. If you eat me, you will be defying the Emperor's command." The tiger was half-believing. The fox said: "Just follow behind me and you'll see." So the fox swaggered ahead while the tiger followed. The small animals saw the tiger behind the fox and fled in terror. The tiger thought the animals were afraid of the fox, so he believed its words and let it go.

Key Vocabulary

狐假虎威
hú jiǎ hǔ wēi
borrow power to intimidate
狐狸
húli
fox
老虎
lǎohǔ
tiger
森林
sēnlín
forest
害怕
hàipà
afraid
相信
xiāngxìn
believe

The Moral

Appearances can be deceiving! This idiom describes someone who uses another person's power or influence to intimidate others.

Cultural Insight

狐假虎威 comes from the "Zuo Zhuan" (Zuo Commentary), one of China's earliest historical texts.