投杼之惑 — “To be swayed or confused by groundless rumors or false accusations”

投杼之惑 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be swayed or confused by groundless rumors or false accusations”. To harbor doubts due to persistent, unsubstantiated claims. Literally, “The doubt from throwing the shuttle”.

Frequency

投杼之惑 Pronunciation and Pinyin

投杼之惑 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
投	tóu	7	throw, cast, or invest
杼	zhù	8	loom shuttle; thin out
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
惑	huò	12	confuse, mislead, or bewitch

Example Sentence with 投杼之惑

尽管他知道那只是谣言，但周围的议论声让他心中产生了投杼之惑。

Although he knew it was just a rumor, the whispers around him caused him to feel the doubt of "throwing the shuttle."

Origin and Story of 投杼之惑

During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a man in the State of Lu who shared the same name as the great philosopher Zeng Can. This namesake committed murder outside the city. A busybody rushed to Zeng Can's mother and exclaimed, "Zeng Can has killed someone!"

Zeng's mother calmly replied, "My son would never kill anyone," and continued weaving as usual.

Soon after, another person came, spreading the same false news that Zeng Can had committed murder. This time, Zeng's mother began to feel anxious and doubtful.

When a third person arrived with the identical accusation, she became terrified, immediately threw down her shuttle, climbed over the wall, and fled her home, convinced by the repeated rumors despite their lack of truth.