请人捉刀 — “To ask someone to ghostwrite”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 请人捉刀?

捉刀：指代人作文。代人做事或写文章

请人捉刀 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to ask someone to ghostwrite”. To complete a task, or to act as a stand-in on one's behalf.

Frequency

请人捉刀 Pronunciation and Pinyin

请人捉刀 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
请	qǐng	10	Please; to invite or request
人	rén	2	human being, person
捉	zhuō	10	catch, seize, or grasp
刀	dāo	2	knife

Example Sentence with 请人捉刀

小王因为工作太多，忙不过来，只好请人捉刀代笔完成那篇演讲稿。

Xiao Wang was overwhelmed with too much work and had no choice but to ask someone to ghostwrite the speech for him.

Origin and Story of 请人捉刀

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao, known for his suspicious nature, wanted to project a majestic image when meeting an envoy from the Xiongnu. He arranged for the impressive Cui Jigui to impersonate him during the reception.

Cao Cao himself, disguised as a warrior, stood by the bed holding a knife.

After the meeting, Cao Cao secretly sent someone to ask the Xiongnu envoy about his impression of the King of Wei. The envoy responded, 'The man holding the knife by the bed is the true hero.'

This story illustrates the idea of having someone act as a proxy or stand-in, especially to convey a particular image or fulfill a role.