be servile to one 's superiors and tyrannical to one 's subordinates

be servile to one 's superiors and tyrannical to one 's subordinates

Flattery, Chinese idiom, Pinyin is ch à NSH à ngq à Xi à, meaning to please the superior, bully the subordinate. It's from Dharma speech, self cultivation.

Idiom explanation

Flatter: flatter, flatter; bully: bully.

The origin of Idioms

Yang Xiong of Han Dynasty wrote in FA Yan · self cultivation: "the upper hand is not flattering, the lower hand is not arrogant."

Idiom usage

It can be used as predicate and attributive. This "seven grade official in front of the prime minister's house, it's easy to see him, but hard to see me" is a typical figure in the old society. Wu Zuguang's "seven grade officials in front of the prime minister's house"