蛊惑人心

蠱惑人心
gǔhuò-rénxīn
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

HSK 7-9
Tā yòng huǎngyán gǔhuò-rénxīn, jiéguǒ bèi shípò.
He used lies to mislead the public, but was eventually exposed.
HSK 7-9
Méitǐ bù yīnggāi chuánbō gǔhuò-rénxīn de yánlùn.
Media shouldn't spread inflammatory, deceptive rhetoric.

Tips

history
From 《元史·刑法志》: 诸阴阳家者流,辄为人燃灯祭星,蛊惑人心者,禁之. 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
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