In the autumn of 30 BCE, during the third year of Emperor Cheng of Han's Jianshi reign, word spread through the capital Chang'an that a catastrophic flood was imminent—panic erupted, and the city descended into chaos.
When Emperor Cheng of Han heard the news, he urgently summoned his ministers to discuss the matter. The emperor's uncle, General Wang Feng, believed the rumors without verifying them and advised, 'Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the consorts should take to the boats, while the officials and commoners should ascend the city walls.' All the ministers agreed.
However, only Prime Minister Wang Shang voiced his opposition. He argued, "A flood cannot possibly engulf the entire city in a single day—this must be a rumor." He advised the emperor, "Do not hastily order officials and citizens to climb the city walls, or the people will only panic further."
Sure enough, within a short time, Chang'an returned to its usual calm. The talk of a great flood had been nothing but baseless rumor. Emperor Cheng greatly admired Wang Shang for holding firm to his correct judgment without being swayed by others, while he was deeply displeased with Wang Feng for panicking at mere hearsay. Wang Feng, in turn, bore a grudge against Wang Shang for this.
Wang Feng's in-law Yang Rong served as the governor of Langya, but his mismanagement brought disaster after disaster to the region. When Wang Shang learned of this, he ignored Wang Feng's repeated pleas for leniency and petitioned the emperor to dismiss Yang Rong from office. This only deepened Wang Feng's hatred for Wang Shang, driving him to seek revenge at all costs.
Wang Feng repeatedly slandered Wang Shang before Emperor Cheng, and eventually the emperor believed Wang Feng's accusations and dismissed Wang Shang from his position as prime minister.
Ban Gu, author of the *Book of Han*, commented, "Wang Shang was honest and unyielding in character, which earned him many enemies, and he eventually lost his official position." Later, people used the idiom "unyielding" to describe not giving in or bowing down in the face of difficulty or evil forces.
Source: *Book of Han*, "Narrative Biography Part Two"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "不屈不挠" came to describe not giving in or bowing down in the face of difficulty or evil forces.