Chinese idiom-掩耳盗铃 yǎn ěr dào líng

The story of “Covering One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell” is an ancient Chinese idiom that originated from the “Self-Knowledge” chapter of the “Lu Shi Chun Qiu” (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Mr. Lu) during the Warring States period. This story depicts a thief’s attempt to steal a large bell.

The Story

The thief discovered a huge bell in the yard of the Fan family and was greedy for the prospect of selling it. However, the bell was extremely heavy, and he couldn’t carry it away. So, he came up with a plan to smash the bell into pieces and carry them home in batches.

When the thief arrived at the bell in the middle of the night with a big iron hammer, ready to smash it, he realized that doing so would create a loud noise that might attract attention. Fearing that his actions would be discovered, he devised a seemingly clever solution: he tore off two pieces of cloth and stuffed them into his ears, believing that by doing so, he wouldn’t hear the sound of the bell, and others wouldn’t hear it too.

However, that was not the case. As he forcefully struck the bell, the loud clang echoed far and wide. People were attracted by the sound and came to investigate, ultimately capturing the thief.

This story teaches us a profound lesson: it is impossible to hide one’s wrongdoing from others. It reminds us that when facing problems, we should face reality squarely instead of trying to evade responsibility or cover up the truth by fooling ourselves. At the same time, it also warns us that greed and foolishness often lead to unfortunate consequences.