An insignificant troublemaker; a petty villain who makes a fuss but can't achieve anything substantial or pose a serious threat.
那些在背后散布谣言的人，不过是些跳梁小丑，掀不起什么大风浪。
Those who spread rumors behind people's backs are merely insignificant troublemakers, incapable of stirring up any major trouble.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the Song Dynasty, Zhang Jingxian, the Deputy Minister of Revenue, was an upright man who abhorred evil. He defied powerful figures and insisted on exiling Zheng Fang, who had committed numerous misdeeds.
In the early Yuannian era, Zhang Jingxian became the highest-ranking official in the Heyang region. When ethnic minorities from the southwest invaded, Zhang Jingxian advised the emperor: 'Those who harass our borders are merely 'leaping clowns' (", (跳梁小丑),
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