鸣鼓而攻 — “To publicly denounce and condemn someone's wrongdoings or actions”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 鸣鼓而攻?

比喻宣布罪状，加以遣责或讨伐。

鸣鼓而攻 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to publicly denounce and condemn someone's wrongdoings or actions”. Often implying an organized or strong opposition. Literally, “Beat drums and attack”.

Frequency

鸣鼓而攻 Pronunciation and Pinyin

鸣鼓而攻 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
鸣	míng	8	make sound
鼓	gǔ	13	drum, beat, rouse, swell
而	ér	6	and, but, then
攻	gōng	7	attack, study, criticize

Example Sentence with 鸣鼓而攻

当公司的某些决策被认为损害了员工利益时，许多人决定鸣鼓而攻，要求管理层重新考虑。

When certain company decisions were perceived to harm employee interests, many decided to publicly denounce them and demand that management reconsider.

Origin and Story of 鸣鼓而攻

During the Spring and Autumn period, Ji Kangzi of the State of Lu advocated for reforming the agricultural land system. He proposed acknowledging private land ownership and implementing a tax based on acreage.

His subordinate, Ran Qiu, who was a disciple of Confucius, was sent to seek Confucius's opinion. Confucius opposed changing the established royal laws, but Ran Qiu supported Ji Kangzi's reforms.

Consequently, Confucius called upon his other disciples to beat drums and launch an attack against Ran Qiu, symbolizing strong condemnation.