The idiom "Kill a spy to teach his son" comes from the following very interesting story: During the Warring States Period in ancient China, there was a famous scholar named Zeng Shen, and later generations respectfully called him Ceng Zi.
One day, Ceng Zi's wife went to the market to buy things, and their son was crying and screaming.
Mrs Tseng didn't want to take the child, but the child kept crying. I had no choice, so I made a wish to him and said, "Good boy, don't go. You listen to your mother and have fun at home. When I come back, I will kill you and give you pork! "
At that time, it was not easy to raise a pig at home, and killing a pig was a big deal. Mrs Tseng didn't mean to kill pigs. She just wanted to coax the children, but she didn't take it seriously. However, the child is serious. He stopped crying at once and said, "Really? Okay, I'm not going. I will wait for my mother at home. "
Mrs Tseng went to the market with confidence. When she came back, she had forgotten all her wishes for the children.
When she stepped into the gate, she heard the howling of pigs in the yard. She wondered and was surprised. She hurried into the yard and saw her pig tied up. Her husband Ceng Zi sharpened his knife and prepared to kill the pig. She asked her husband in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Ceng Zi said, "Kill pigs and give children meat."
Mrs Tseng frowned and said, "Kill pigs? This won't work! It's a pity to kill this pig when it grows up! "
Ceng Zi said, "Didn't you promise your child to kill pigs and give him meat?"
Mrs Tseng remembered her promise to the child and explained, "I was joking with the child and coaxing him. How can you take it seriously? " Ceng Zi shook his head and said to his wife seriously, "You can't joke with children like this. You are joking, but the child is serious. Since you promised your child, you must keep your word, and you must never break your word! Otherwise, what you said in the future, will the children still listen? "
Mrs Tseng said unconvinced, "I didn't mean to lie to him, just to coax him out of trouble."
Ceng Zi continued patiently, "But I don't know if you have considered it. The child is too young to tell which one is joking and which one is serious. If you don't keep your promise, he will think you are cheating him. Mom lied to the child, how can he trust you again? Besides, if you do this, it is tantamount to teaching children to lie and teaching them to lie! "
In order to keep his promise, to keep his promise to the children, and to be honest, Ceng Zi resolutely insisted on killing pigs. This is the most famous story of "killing Godson" in history. This is where the allusion to the idiom "killing a godson" comes from.
Having said that, you will understand that the word "bi" in Kill the Godson is actually a word "pig". To put it bluntly, it is "killing pigs to teach children", but the word "bi" is rarely used today.
This idiom tells us that one should pay attention to credit, keep his word and practice his promise. In life, people like to cooperate with honest people, and hate people who are dishonest and don't keep their promises to treat others falsely.
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