A better translation for 笑裡藏刀 is "Hide a knife behind a smile". I'm not being critical, just making it easier to understand for others. > This is the classic "

A better translation for 笑裡藏刀 is "Hide a knife behind a smile". I'm not being critical, just making it easier to understand for others. > This is the classic "what breaks you only make you stronger" but in a very aggressive way. imo This is just continuing effects from the trauma of Cultural Revolution, with fear & self preservation being the primary motivation of the China's red nobility. I remember reading that one of Deng Xiaoping's major reasons to crush the Democracy rallies was because he feared an uprising and being under house arrest again. It makes you wonder what China will be like if you have leadership who didn't experience the bad end of the Cultural Revolution firsthand