One day, Confucius was traveling by carriage through the Tai Mountains with several disciples when he noticed a woman kneeling at a grave, weeping bitterly. He sent his student Zilu to ask why. Zilu approached and inquired, "Madam, your cries sound as though you have suffered great sorrow." The woman replied through her tears, "A tiger once killed my father-in-law, then later my husband, and now it has taken my son as well. That is why I mourn so deeply." Confucius, overhearing, asked, "If this place is so dangerous, why do you not leave?" The woman answered, "Because here there are no harsh taxes or cruel officials." Turning to his disciples, Confucius said solemnly, "Remember this: a tyrannical government is more fearsome than a man-eating tiger."
Zilu approached the woman, bowed, and asked, "Madam, from your weeping, it sounds like you are deeply grieved. Could you tell me what misfortune has befallen you?"
The woman wept, saying, "My family has lived in these mountains for many years, and there are tigers here. In the past, my father-in-law was eaten by a tiger, then my husband was also eaten by a tiger, and a few days ago, my son died in a tiger's mouth. How can this not break my heart?"
Confucius and his disciples arrived at a grave where a woman was weeping. The Master asked, "Since there are tigers in these mountains, why don't you move outside?" The woman choked back tears, "Because this remote area is beyond the reach of harsh officials and oppressive laws." Confucius sighed deeply and turned to his students. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "Yes," they replied. "Remember this: oppressive government is more ferocious than a man-eating tiger! If any of you become officials, govern with benevolence and compassion." "We will always remember your teaching," the students answered in unison. The idiom "harsh rule is fiercer than a tiger" came to describe cruel decrees and heavy taxes as more terrifying than a beast. Source: *The Book of Rites*, "Tan Gong"
Source: *The Book of Rites*, Chapter "Tan Gong II"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "苛政猛于虎" came to describe cruel decrees and heavy taxes as more terrifying than a beast.