Yin Hao, courtesy name Yuanyuan, was a man of noble birth from Changping in Chen Commandery (present-day Xihua, Henan) during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Known for his eloquent debates and considerable fame, he initially refused to take any official post in the imperial court.
In 340 AD, he was appointed General Who Establishes Martial Prowess and Governor of Yang Province by the imperial court. Unable to decline the honor, he reluctantly accepted the post and set out for his new duties.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, General Huan Wen held the reins of power, and he often clashed with the official Yin Hao. Wang Xizhi, who served as an advisor, urged Yin Hao, "With a common enemy at the gates, you should prioritize state affairs and make peace with Huan Wen." But Yin Hao refused to listen.
Soon after, he was appointed General of the Central Army, overseeing military affairs in five provinces—Yang, Yu, Xu, Yan, and Qing—and led his forces to reclaim the Central Plains. However, he was defeated by Former Qin troops near Xuchang, and the following year suffered another loss around Mengcheng in Anhui.
Huan Wen seized the opportunity to submit a memorial to the court attacking him
After being stripped of his official rank and reduced to commoner status, Yin Hao was deeply unhappy inside, yet he never uttered a single word of complaint outwardly. He spent his days at home reading poetry and reciting verses, appearing as if his demotion did not bother him at all.
But he often traced characters in the air with his finger, gradually forming a habitual gesture. Someone secretly observed and eventually discovered he was always writing the four characters "Duo Duo Guai Shi" (shocking absurdities), never changing. Only then did people realize he was using these four words to vent his inner grievances.
Some time later, Huan Wen, for political reasons, decided to reinstate Yin Hao and wrote him a letter offering the position of Imperial Secretary. Yin Hao accepted the offer and began drafting a reply.
But because he was overly cautious, he repeatedly took the letter in and out of the envelope dozens of times, and in the end, he sent out an empty envelope without ever putting the written letter inside.
When Huan Wen received the letter and found it empty, he believed Yin Hao was mocking him. Furious, he decided never to reinstate him.
Later, the idiom "Dubu Guaishi" came to describe strange things that astonish people.
Source: *A New Account of the Tales of the World*, Chapter "Dismissals and Removals"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "咄咄怪事" came to describe strange things that astonish people.