Priestcraft, once upon a time not so distant at all
Calling a deer a horse. One chengyu (Chinese idiomatic expression) that is derived from an incident involving Zhao Gao is "point to a deer and call it a horse" (指鹿為馬; zhǐlù-wéimǎ) or "calling a deer a horse", meaning "deliberate peddling of a falsehood". The Records of the Grand Historian records that Zhao Gao, in an attempt to control the Qin government, devised a loyalty test for court officials using a deer and horse: Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for a...