During the Northern Wei Dynasty, a young man named Wen Zisheng from Jiyin Yuanqu (present-day Heze, Shandong) was so devoted to reading that he excelled at writing essays from an early age.
He became a retainer at the nobleman Wang Yuanyuan's estate, but Wang, lacking an eye for talent, only assigned him to teach the servants' children.
Once, Wen Zisheng composed a tombstone inscription titled "The Hou Mountain Ancestral Hall Stele Inscription," which was fresh, elegant, and richly literary. Many renowned local scholars read it and were full of praise, lauding Wen Zisheng as a great talent in front of Wang Yuanyuan. It was only then that Wang Yuanyuan began to hold Wen Zisheng in high regard.
In 516 AD, the imperial court dispatched Prince Yuan Kuang of Dongping to select talented scholars for the post of imperial censor. Over 800 candidates applied, but only Wen Zisheng and 23 others were chosen. Many protested, so Yuan Kuang ordered Wen to debate them on their learning. Wen spoke with such eloquence that his rivals, ashamed of their own inadequacy, withdrew one by one. Wen was officially appointed as censor, and soon many of the court's edicts and documents bore his hand.
In 531 AD, Gao Huan, the Prince of Bohai, installed Yuan Lang as emperor of Northern Wei. The following year, Erzhu Zhao, governor of Bingzhou, grew dissatisfied with Gao Huan and launched an attack. The two armies clashed at Hanling Mountain, where Gao Huan emerged victorious.
After the Battle of Chaoling, Yuan Lang ordered a temple built on the mountain, naming it Dingguo Temple, and commanded Wen Zisheng to compose an inscription praising Gao Huan.
Later, Yu Xin, a renowned scholar of the Southern Liang Dynasty, was sent as an envoy to the Northern Wei. He had always looked down on northern scholars. However, while visiting Dingguo Temple, he came across Wen Zisheng's "Hanling Mountain Temple Stele Inscription" and was deeply captivated. As he read, he exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!" After finishing, he personally copied down the entire text.
After returning to the south, some scholars asked Yu Xin about the literary scene in the north and whether there were any good writings. Yu Xin replied:
"Only the inscription on Hanling Mountain is worth reading; the rest are nothing but the braying of donkeys and the barking of dogs—chaotic and grating." Later, people used the idiom "Donkey Braying and Dog Barking" to mock poorly written articles.
Source: Zhang Zhuo (Tang Dynasty), *Records of the Court and Countryside*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "驴鸣犬吠" came to describe how the idiom Donkey Braying and Dog Barking is used to mock poorly written articles.