外方内圆 wài fāng nèi yuán Square outside, round inside

Explanation

形容人外表正直，内心圆滑。

Describes a person who is outwardly upright and inwardly smooth.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的书生，他为人正直，嫉恶如仇，常常仗义执言，为民除害，在百姓中口碑极佳。然而，李白性格耿直，有时过于冲动，得罪了不少达官贵人。一次，他因直言进谏触怒了皇帝，被贬官到偏远地区。在当地，李白依然坚持自己的原则，但他也学会了在处理人际关系时更加圆滑。他不再像以前那样锋芒毕露，而是学会了以柔克刚，用温和的态度化解冲突。他深知，想要在官场立足，就必须既保持自己的正直，又懂得如何保护自己。于是，他在外表的刚正不阿之下，隐藏着圆滑的心思，这便是外方内圆的处世之道。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de shū shēng, tā wéi rén zhèng zhí, jí è rú chóu, cháng cháng zhàng yì chí yán, wèi mín chú hài, zài bǎixìng zhōng kǒubēi jí jiā. rán ér, lǐ bái xìnggé gěng zhí, yǒu shí guò yú chōng dòng, dé zuì le bù shǎo dá guān guì rén. yī cì, tā yīn zhí yán jìn jiàn chù nù le huángdì, bèi biǎn guān dào piānyuǎn dìqū. zài dāng dì, lǐ bái yīrán jiānchí zìjǐ de yuánzé, dàn tā yě xué huì le zài chǔlǐ rén jì guānxi shí gèng jiā yuánhuá. tā bù zài xiàng yǐ qián nà yàng fēngmáng bì lù, ér shì xué huì le yǐ róu kè gāng, yòng wēn hé de tàidu huà jiě chōngtú. tā shēn zhī, xiǎng yào zài guān chǎng lì zú, jiù bìxū jì bǎochí zìjǐ de zhèng zhí, yòu dǒng de rúhé bǎohù zìjǐ. yú shì, tā zài wàibiǎo de gāng zhèng bù ē zhī xià, yǐn cáng zhe yuánhuá de xīnsī, zhè biàn shì wài fāng nèi yuán de chǔ shì zhī dào.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar named Li Bai, known for his integrity and hatred of evil. He often spoke out for justice and helped the people, earning great respect. However, Li Bai was also impulsive and made many powerful enemies. Once, he angered the emperor by speaking his mind, and was exiled to a remote area. There, Li Bai remained true to his principles, but he also learned to be more tactful in his dealings with people. He no longer acted so openly, but used a gentle approach to resolve conflicts. He knew that to survive in the court, he needed to maintain integrity while also knowing how to protect himself. He thus used an approach of being outwardly forthright while inwardly smooth, a philosophy of being 'square on the outside and round on the inside'.

Usage

用于形容人，多用于贬义。

yòng yú xiáoróng rén, duō yòng yú biǎn yì

Used to describe people, often with a negative connotation.

Examples

• 他表面正直，内心却很圆滑，真是个外方内圆的人。

  tā biǎomiàn zhèngzhí, nèixīn què hěn yuánhuá, zhēnshi ge wài fāng nèi yuán de rén

  He is outwardly upright, but inwardly very smooth, a truly square-outer-round-inner person.

• 李经理外方内圆，在公司里很吃得开。

  lǐ jīnglǐ wài fāng nèi yuán, zài gōngsī lǐ hěn chī de kāi

  Manager Li is outwardly straight, inwardly round, and gets along well in the company.

Related Idioms

• 外圆内方

• 表里如一

Opposite Idioms

• 外柔内刚

• 刚正不阿