Chinese idiom · 成语
金蝉脱壳
Meaning
The golden cicada sheds its shell; to escape by leaving a decoy.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary taleThe image is a cicada leaving its empty outer shell behind. In Sanguo Zhi Pinghua (三國志平話), volume 1, Sun Jian is pursued by Lü Bu after a defeat. He hangs his robe and armor on a tree and escapes, leaving the visible equipment in place of himself. The narrative explicitly names the cicada-shell stratagem.
This is a literary Three Kingdoms story, not automatically an event established by the historical Sanguo Zhi. The expression can apply to escaping a predicament through a misleading appearance, diversion, or substitute. The essential feature is that the appearance remains while the person or real substance has slipped away.
In everyday life
电影里的主角用假人骗过守卫，来了个金蝉脱壳。
The film’s hero fooled the guards with a dummy and slipped away.
Emphasizes a deceptive substitute or appearance enabling escape.