📖 Meaning
Describes a person who speaks differently to different parties in order to sow discord and create conflict between them. It refers to a duplicitous, two-faced individual who stirs up trouble by telling inconsistent stories, driving wedges between people who would otherwise get along.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Song Dynasty text 'Sima's Family Rituals — Wedding Rituals, Part Two' (《司马氏书仪·婚仪下》), compiled by the renowned historian Sima Guang. The passage warns that anyone who is 'two-faced and double-tongued' — fabricating slander and false accusations to drive wedges between family members — should be expelled from the household. It reflects the Confucian emphasis on family harmony and the severe condemnation of those who undermine it through deceitful speech.
💡 Example Usage
他两面二舌，总在朋友间搬弄是非，大家渐渐都不理他了。
He was two-faced and double-tongued, always stirring up trouble among friends, so everyone gradually stopped associating with him.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 两面二舌
- Pinyin: liǎng miàn èr shé
- Literal Translation: two faces, two tongues
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4