to talk incessantly; to chatter away endlessly; to babble on
Era:
Early Modern
Frequency:
Story:
During the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen dispatched a princess to marry Jizhu, the Xiongnu king, to secure peace on the border.
The eunuch Zhongxing was assigned to escort the princess. Upon reaching the Xiongnu territory, Zhongxing defected and became a strategic advisor to the Xiongnu.
When Han envoys later visited, they ridiculed the Xiongnu for their living arrangements, pointing out that entire families lived in a single tent.
Zhongxing sharply retorted, criticizing the Han envoys for only knowing how to dress ostentatiously and 'chatter on incessantly' without substance, implying they were all talk and no action.
This incident is associated with the idiom '喋喋不休', which describes someone who talks on and on without stopping, often to the point of being tiresome.