司馬昭之心——路人皆知

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Chinese

Sima Zhao 's; him/her/it; this heart; mind passer-by everyone knows; as known by all
trad. (司馬昭之心——路人皆知) —— 路人 皆知
simp. (司马昭之心——路人皆知) —— 路人 皆知
alternative forms 司馬昭之心,路人皆知司马昭之心,路人皆知
Literally: “Sima Zhao's heart ― every passer-by knows”.

Etymology

From Cao Mao (fifth emperor of Cao Wei)'s statement of ousting Sima Zhao the night before getting assassinated by a servant of Sima on June 2, 260 C.E.. This text was later quoted by the historian Pei Songzhi in his annotated version of the Records of the Three Kingdoms:

曹芳省徹宿衛鎧甲戎兵老弱而已曹髦威權不勝忿侍中王沈尚書王經常侍王業:「司馬昭之心,路人不能今日之。」
曹芳省彻宿卫铠甲戎兵老弱而已曹髦威权不胜忿侍中王沈尚书王经常侍王业:「司马昭之心,路人不能今日之。」
From: c. 3rd century, Xi Zuochi, The Annals of Han and Jin
Zì Cáo Fāng shì hòu, Wèi rén shěngchè sùwèi, wú fù kǎijiǎ, zhū mén róngbīng lǎoruò éryǐ. CáoMáo jiàn wēiquán rì qù, bùshēng qí fèn. Nǎi zhào shìzhōng Wáng Shěn, shàngshū Wáng Jīng, chángshì Wáng Yè, wèi yuē: “Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn, lùrén suǒ zhī yě. Wú bùnéng zuò shòu fèi rǔ, jīnrì dāng yǔ qīng zì chū tǎo zhī.”
Since the dethronement of Cao Fang, royal guards had been abolished in the State of Wei. Strong defense no longer existed; only old and weak soldiers remained. Raging against his authority fading away, Cao Mao called Wang Chen, Wang Jing and Wang Ye and told them, “Even passers-by know the ambition of Sima Zhao. I can't bear the humiliation of being dethroned anymore. I think it's high time for us to bring him down now.”

Pronunciation


Idiom

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司馬昭之心——路人皆知

  1. one's evil ambitions are apparent to everyone