📖 Meaning
Literally 'in the dark of night, no one knows.' It refers to doing something in secret, believing that under cover of darkness no one will find out. The idiom is most often used to criticize corrupt or unethical behavior carried out when one thinks no one is watching.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the 'Book of Later Han' (《后汉书》), in the Biography of Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen, an upright official of the Eastern Han dynasty, had once recommended Wang Mi for the post of magistrate of Changyi. Later, Wang Mi came to visit him at night carrying ten jin of gold as a token of gratitude. When Yang Zhen refused the gift, Wang Mi urged him to accept it, saying that no one would know in the dark of night. Yang Zhen famously replied, 'Heaven knows, the gods know, I know, and you know—how can you say no one knows?' The story became a celebrated illustration of personal integrity and the belief that wrongful deeds are never truly hidden.
💡 Example Usage
他以为暮夜无知，便将公款据为己有。
Believing that no one would know in the dark of night, he pocketed the public funds.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 暮夜无知
- Pinyin: mù yè wú zhī
- Literal Translation: night, night, no, knowledge
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4