Hide a Knife Behind a Smile

Táng Xuánzōng shí, zǎixiàng Lǐ Línfǔ zài cháo zhōng zhǎngquán shíjiǔ nián, shēn dé huángdì xìnrèn.

In the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the chief minister Li Linfu held power at court for nineteen years, and the emperor trusted him deeply.

Tā wéirén wàibiǎo jíwéi héshàn, jiàn shuí dōu xiàoliǎn-xiāngyíng, shuōhuà tiánměi dòngtīng.

On the outside he was extremely kind; whoever he met, he would greet them with a smile and speak in sweet, pleasing words.

Cháo zhōng dàchén dōu yǐwéi tā shì ge kuānhòu qiānhé de zhǎngzhě, duì tā fàngsōngle jǐngtì.

The officials at court all took him for a generous and gentle elder, and they let down their guard around him.

Shíjì shàng, Lǐ Línfǔ chéngfǔ jí shēn, fánshì bǐ zìjǐ yǒu cái de rén, tā dōu yào xiǎngfāng-shèfǎ chúdiào.

In truth Li Linfu was deeply calculating, and anyone more talented than himself, he would scheme in every way to remove.

Tā zǒngshì dāngmiàn bǎ rén kuā de tiānhuā-luànzhuì, bèidìlǐ què xiàng huángdì jìn chányán, bǎ rén hài de biǎnguān-liúfàng.

He would always praise people to their faces until the praise touched the sky, yet behind their backs he would feed slander to the emperor and have them demoted or sent into exile.

Yǒu yí wèi guānyuán bèi tā dāngmiàn chēngzàn, hái yǐwéi shì zhīyù-zhī'ēn, méi guò duōjiǔ què bèi tā ànzhōng xiànhài, diūguān-qùzhí.

One official, praised to his face by Li Linfu, thought he had met a true benefactor; before long he was secretly framed by the very same man and lost his post.

Cháo zhōng de rén chīle kuī, cái jiànjiàn kànchuān tā de zhēn miànmù.

Only after people at court suffered losses did they slowly see through him to his true face.

Dàjiā bèidìlǐ shuō tā “kǒu yǒu mì, fù yǒu jiàn” —— zhè jiùshì chéngyǔ “Kǒumì-fùjiàn” de yóulái.

Behind his back people said of him, 'honey on the lips, a sword in the belly' — and this is the origin of the idiom 'honey on the lips, a sword in the belly'.

Hòulái rénnen bǎ zhè tiáo jìcè zǒngjié wéi “Xiàolǐ-cángdāo”: biǎomiàn héshàn qīnjìn, ànzhōng què cángzhe shājī.

Later people summed up this way of acting as the stratagem 'hide a knife behind a smile': warm and friendly on the surface, while in secret a murderous intent is hidden away.

Zhè jiùshì “Xiàolǐ-cángdāo” —— xiàoróng yuè tiánměi, dāozi yuè fēnglì, ràng rén zài háowú fángbèi shí zhòngzhāo.

This is 'hide a knife behind a smile': the sweeter the smile, the sharper the blade, and the victim is struck when they have no guard at all.

Gōngzuò zhōng yě huì yùdào zhèyàng de tóngshì: dāngmiàn bǎ nǐ kuā de tiānhuā-luànzhuì, zhuǎnguòtóu què zài lǐngdǎo miànqián qiǎng nǐ de gōngláo, tuī nǐ de guòshī.

You can meet this kind of colleague at work too: to your face they praise you to the skies, but the moment they turn around they steal your credit and push their own mistakes onto you in front of the boss.

Tā tíxǐng wǒmen: kàn rén bù néng zhǐ kàn xiàoliǎn, tīng huà bù néng zhǐ tīng hǎohuà, duō liú yí fèn xīnsi, cái bú huì bèi ànsuàn.

It reminds us: you cannot judge a person only by their smile, or weigh their words only by what flatters you; keep a little more care in mind, and you will not be caught off guard.