📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone who slanders their subordinates while deceiving their superiors. It characterizes a treacherous person who undermines those beneath them while hiding the truth from those above. Such behavior reveals a calculating and morally corrupt nature.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Tang Dynasty essay '骂尸虫文' (Reprimanding the Corpse Worm) by the renowned literatus Liu Zongyuan (773–819). In the essay, Liu condemns a parasitic spirit believed to dwell in the human body that reports people's misdeeds to Heaven to bring them harm. He uses the phrase '谮下谩上' to describe this creature's treacherous habit of slandering those below and deceiving those above, drawing a sharp parallel to corrupt and manipulative officials in government.
💡 Example Usage
此人惯于谮下谩上，同事们对他无不敬而远之。
This person habitually slanders subordinates and deceives superiors, so all his colleagues keep a respectful distance.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 谮下谩上
- Pinyin: zèn xià mán shàng
- Literal Translation: slander below, deceive above
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4