To confess without being pressed or interrogated; to incriminate oneself by one's own words or actions, revealing guilt or ill intent without prompting.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
During their journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, Tripitaka and his three disciples sought lodging at a temple. Sun Wukong proudly displayed their precious kasaya (monk's robe) to the temple monks.
That night, an old monk, consumed by greed, set the temple on fire and stole the kasaya. However, as he fled, he was captured by a demon from Black Wind Mountain near Grassy Slope. Without any coercion, he 'confessed without being beaten' (不打自招), promptly handing over Tripitaka's kasaya to the demon.
Upon learning of this, Sun Wukong immediately rushed to the scene, defeated the demon, and retrieved the kasaya.