📖 Meaning
To move or touch someone by appealing to their emotions rather than reason or force. It describes persuading someone through genuine feeling, empathy, or sentiment. The phrase is most often paired with 晓之以理 (to enlighten with reason) as a classic two-pronged approach to persuasion.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single authoritative classical source, but arises from the long Chinese rhetorical tradition of contrasting emotional appeal with logical persuasion. It echoes Confucian and later Confucian-influenced thought on moral education, where virtuous example and heartfelt feeling were seen as powerful tools of influence. Over time it crystallized into the fixed expression 动之以情，晓之以理, describing the dual strategy of moving the heart and reasoning with the mind. It is widely used in modern Chinese in contexts of teaching, counseling, negotiation, and interpersonal persuasion.
💡 Example Usage
老师动之以情，终于让倔强的学生流下了悔恨的泪水。
By appealing to his emotions, the teacher finally moved the stubborn student to tears of remorse.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 动之以情
- Pinyin: dòng zhī yǐ qíng
- Literal Translation: move, him, with, emotion
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4