📖 Meaning
To deliberately confuse black and white, calling the black white and the white black. It is a metaphor for intentionally distorting right and wrong to create chaos and deception. The phrase criticizes those who twist the truth to serve their own purposes.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the 'Book of Later Han' (后汉书), specifically in the biography of Yang Zhen (杨震). The original text states '白黑溷淆，清浊同源' — white and black are confounded, the clear and the turbid share the same source. Yang Zhen was an upright Eastern Han official known for his integrity, and the phrase lamented the moral confusion of his era when honest and corrupt officials were treated alike.
💡 Example Usage
他黑白混淆，颠倒是非，终将遭到众人的唾弃。
He deliberately confounded right and wrong, distorting the truth, and will ultimately be despised by all.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 黑白混淆
- Pinyin: hēi bái hùn xiáo
- Literal Translation: black, white, mix, confuse
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4