To be fickle and inconsistent, constantly changing one's mind or decisions, often about trivial matters; it can also refer to deceiving others by making superficial changes that do not alter the fundamental reality.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
During the Warring States period, there was an old man in the State of Song who kept many monkeys in his courtyard. Over time, the old man and the monkeys could even communicate with each other.
The old man used to give each monkey four chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening.
A few years later, the old man's finances became increasingly tight, while the number of monkeys grew. So, he decided to reduce the daily chestnuts from eight to seven.
He discussed it with the monkeys, saying, "From today on, I will give you three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening. What do you think?" Upon hearing this, the monkeys all thought that the morning portion was reduced by one. They started chattering loudly and jumping around, seemingly very displeased.
Seeing their reaction, the old man quickly changed his words, saying, "Alright then, I will give you four in the morning and three in the evening. How about that?" The monkeys heard this and, thinking that the morning chestnuts had increased from three to four, making it the same as before, were overjoyed and started rolling around on the ground.