







眼中之钉 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a person who is an object of intense dislike or hatred”. Someone who is a constant annoyance or source of extreme irritation. Literally, “Thorn in one's eye”.
During the Five Dynasties period, in the Later Tang Dynasty, Zhao Zaili, a commander of the Xiaojie army, rebelled against Emperor Zhuangzong and supported Emperor Mingzong, who then appointed him as the military governor of Yicheng Prefecture.
Zhao Zaili abused his power, oppressed the common people, and frequently extorted wealth from them.
When he led his army to attack the Khitan, who were considered a "thorn in people's eyes" at the time, he ordered the residents of Songzhou to each pay 1000 cash as a "nail-removal fee," threatening death to anyone who failed to comply.

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Open the tool →眼中之钉 (yǎn zhōng zhī dīng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a person who is an object of intense dislike or hatred”.
眼中之钉 is pronounced yǎn zhōng zhī dīng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 眼中之钉 means “Thorn in one's eye”. It is used to mean “a person who is an object of intense dislike or hatred”.
眼中之钉 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
比喻极其厌恶憎恨的人