阳奉阴违

陽奉陰違

yángfèngyīnwéi

idiom #65,275

Meanings

1 outwardly obedient, inwardly defiant
2 to pay lip service while secretly opposing

Characters

yang; visible; outward

to obey; to comply

yin; hidden; secret

to violate; to defy

Examples

他表面上答应，其实是阳奉阴违。

Tā biǎomiàn shàng dāying, qíshí shì yángfèngyīnwéi.

He agreed on the surface, but it was all lip service.

对政策阳奉阴违是不行的。

Duì zhèngcè yángfèngyīnwéi shì bùxíng de.

You can't pretend to comply with policy while secretly defying it.

这种阳奉阴违的作风必须改。

Zhè zhǒng yángfèngyīnwéi de zuòfēng bìxū gǎi.

This two-faced attitude has to change.

Tips

history

From Li Baojia's late-Qing novel 《官场现形记》 (Officialdom Unmasked), chapter 47: 卜知府阳奉阴违，也就奈何他不得 — 'Prefect Bu complied openly and defied secretly; there was nothing one could do to him.' The 阳/阴 pair is the classical 'bright/dark,' 'public/private.'

culture

A core bureaucratic-culture vice in Chinese political language — a recurring target of anti-corruption campaigns, Party rectification, and imperial censor memorials alike. The flip side of 表里如一 (inside and outside match).

Stroke Order

阳 yáng

奉 fèng

阴 yīn

违 wéi