📖 Meaning
A metaphor for having a reputation so formidable and awe-inspiring that it frightens people into submission from afar. It combines two historical incidents where enemies were so terrified of a Chinese official or general that they made a target effigy of him and used his name to silence crying infants.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom fuses two episodes. In the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu so feared the stern official Zhi Dou that they carved a wooden effigy of him and had their cavalry gallop and shoot arrows at it, yet none could strike the mark. In the Tang Dynasty, the Tibetan forces were so terrified of the general Hao Ci that they would invoke his very name to frighten crying children into silence. Later generations merged the two stories into one expression denoting a reputation fearsome enough to subdue enemies without battle.
💡 Example Usage
将军射像止啼，威名远播边疆，敌人闻之丧胆。
The general's fearsome reputation spread across the frontier; enemies lost heart just hearing his name.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 射像止啼
- Pinyin: shè xiàng zhǐ tí
- Literal Translation: shoot, effigy, stop, crying
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4