郢书燕说 yǐng shū yān shuō

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. Ying writes a letter and Yan reads it
  2. fig. to misinterpret the original meaning
  3. to pile up errors
  4. refers to the letter from capital 郢[Ying3] of 楚[Chu3] in which the inadvertent words "hold up the candle" are mistaken by the minister of 燕[Yan1] as "promote the wise"

CHARACTERS

郢 yǐng state in today's Hubei province
书 shū
HSK 1
book, letter, document; writings
燕 yān swallow (bird); comfort, enjoy
说 shuō
HSK 1
speak, say, talk; scold, upbraid