📖 Meaning
An old term for a jealous and domineering wife. It derives from Su Shi's teasing of his friend Chen Zao about his famously fierce wife. The phrase is used to describe a woman who is fiercely jealous and intimidates her husband.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Song Dynasty when the poet Su Shi teased his friend Chen Zao (courtesy name Jichang), whose wife surnamed Liu was notoriously fierce and jealous. Su Shi wrote that 'suddenly the lion of Hedong roars, and the cane drops from the startled hand,' mocking how Chen would be scolded by his wife. 'Hedong' refers to the ancestral region of the prominent Liu clan, and the 'lion's roar' was a Buddhist term Su Shi repurposed for comic effect. Ming Dynasty writer Mei Dingzuo later employed the phrase in his play 'Yuhe Ji.' Over time it became a stock reference for a shrewish, jealous wife.
💡 Example Usage
他惧内如虎，家中那位河东狮子，令他不敢正眼看人。
He feared his wife like a tiger; the 'lion of Hedong' at home made him too afraid to even look anyone in the eye.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 河东狮子
- Pinyin: hé dōng shī zi
- Literal Translation: east of the river, lion
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4