Chinese idiom · 成语
指鹿为马
Meaning
To deliberately distort the truth; to manipulate reality.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical accountIn Shiji (史記), volume 6, Zhao Gao presents a deer to the Second Emperor of Qin but calls it a horse. The emperor laughs at the claim and questions those around him. Some remain silent, some agree with Zhao Gao, and others identify the deer correctly. Zhao Gao later uses the law to harm those who told the truth, making the court fear him.
Lu Jia’s Xinyu (新語), Bian Huo (辨惑), preserves a related version focused on a ruler doubting his own eyes under collective pressure. The accounts differ in details, but both illustrate deliberate falsification backed by power. The idiom is not for an innocent mistake in identifying an animal.
In everyday life
明明是产品有缺陷，却说全是用户的问题，这简直是指鹿为马。
The product clearly has a defect, yet they blame everything on the users—that is deliberately twisting the facts.
A strong accusation of knowingly distorting the truth, not merely disagreeing.