📖 Meaning
Refers to the measures an uprising's leaders take to mobilize the masses, typically using superstition, omens, and rumors to win popular support. It is synonymous with the idiom 狐鸣鱼书. The imagery comes from imitating a fox's cry beside a caged campfire at night to spread a prophecy among the troops.
📜 Origin Story
In 209 BC, during the late Qin dynasty, the peasant conscript leaders Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were escorting garrison troops to Yuyang when torrential rain stranded them at Daze Township, a delay punishable by death under Qin law. To incite revolt, they wrote the words "Chen Sheng will be king" on a piece of silk and hid it in the belly of a fish that was later bought and cooked by the soldiers. At night, Wu Guang hid near a temple, lit a fire in a bamboo cage, and imitated a fox's cry calling out "Great Chu shall rise, Chen Sheng shall be king." The frightened soldiers took these as heavenly omens and rallied behind them, sparking the famous Daze Township uprising. The story is recorded in the "Hereditary House of Chen She" chapter of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.
💡 Example Usage
历代起义军常用狐鸣篝火之法，先以迷信谣言动摇民心，再举大事。
Rebel armies through the ages often used the fox-cry-and-campfire tactic, first shaking the people's faith with superstitious rumors before raising the banner of revolt.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 狐鸣篝火
- Pinyin: hú míng gōu huǒ
- Literal Translation: fox, howl, caged fire
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4