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During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, Cui Hong, the Grand Censor, was known for his upright, incorruptible, and honest character. He was famous for daring to speak frankly, having repeatedly offered direct remonstrances to Emperor Wu, who in turn highly valued him.
Many ministers at court greatly feared him and commented, saying: "Like a thicket of thorns, he comes from Boling; in the south, he's a goshawk, in the north, an eagle."

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Open the tool →南鹞北鹰 (nán yào běi yīng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes a person who is stern”.
南鹞北鹰 is pronounced nán yào běi yīng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 南鹞北鹰 means “Southern goshawk, northern eagle”. It is used to mean “describes a person who is stern”.
南鹞北鹰 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
鹞、鹰:两种猛禽。在南为鹞子,在北为老鹰。比喻性格严峻的人。