蛊惑人心

蠱惑人心
gǔhuòrénxīn
idiom #45,493

Meanings

  1. 1 to stir up public sentiment by false statements
  2. 2 to bewitch and mislead the masses
  3. 3 demagoguery

Examples

Tā yòng huǎngyán gǔhuòrénxīn, jiéguǒ bèi shípò.
He used lies to mislead the public, but was eventually exposed.
Méitǐ bù yīnggāi chuánbō gǔhuòrénxīn de yánlùn.
Media shouldn't spread inflammatory, deceptive rhetoric.

Tips

history
From 《·刑法》: '阴阳家为人蛊惑人心。' Yuan-era statutes outlawed mystics who 'lit lamps and worshipped stars to bewitch the public' — the original 蛊惑人心 was sorcery, but the meaning generalized into political deception.
memory
(gǔ) was an ancient sorcery practice — sealing venomous insects in a jar until one survived to become a curse. So 蛊惑 is literally 'to curse-bewitch', and 蛊惑人心 is 'to cast a spell on people's hearts' through lies.

Stroke Order

huò
rén
xīn