📖 Meaning
Literally meaning 'hair standing on end,' this idiom describes a state where one's hair appears to stand straight up. It is used metaphorically in two ways: to express overwhelming fury and indignation, or to describe intense fear, tension, and alarm. Variants include 毛发皆竖, 毛发尽竖, and 毛发为竖.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom draws from the ancient physiological observation that extreme emotion causes one's hair to stand erect, a phenomenon noted in Chinese literature since early times. The image of hair standing on end as a sign of terror or rage appears in texts from the Han dynasty onward. No single canonical source story is attributed to this particular phrasing, though similar descriptions appear in works such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian when depicting figures in moments of extreme fright or fury. Over time, the expression became a standard literary device for conveying visceral emotional intensity.
💡 Example Usage
听闻那声凄厉的惨叫，众人无不毛发倒竖，吓得不敢动弹。
Hearing that blood-curdling shriek, everyone's hair stood on end and they were too terrified to move.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 毛发倒竖
- Pinyin: máo fā dǎo shù
- Literal Translation: hair, hair, stand, upright
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4