In Confucius's hometown, there was a man who deeply admired him. He dreamed day and night of becoming Confucius himself. One day, after looking at his own crooked calligraphy, he finally had an idea. Since his surname was also Kong, he told everyone, "My surname is Kong, and my courtesy name is Zhongni." People just laughed it off.
A few days later, everyone saw him mimicking Confucius's tone and repeating his sayings, his comical performance making them burst into laughter. Gradually, they all concluded he had lost his mind—whenever he approached, they hurried to avoid him, fearing even a moment's delay.
Yet this man, far from realizing his folly, mistook the crowd's amusement for admiration. He boldly moved into Confucius's chambers, draped himself in Confucius's robes, and spent his days hunched over Confucius's desk, posing as a living replica of the sage. The onlookers found this even more ridiculous, crowding at the doorway to jeer. One voice called out mockingly, "Your outward appearance may mimic Confucius, but your true nature remains unchanged!"
At this, the man’s face flushed red, his eyes bulging and his beard bristling—all traces of his earlier humble and refined demeanor had vanished completely.
Those mocking him turned to the crowd and said, "He wears Confucius's robes and lives in his house trying to imitate him. Doesn't he look like a sheep draped in a tiger's skin? The sheep may seem fierce on the outside, but inside it remains timid, for its nature never changes."
“Well said!” the crowd agreed in unison. “Seeing grass, he rejoiced; seeing tigers and wolves, he feared—because at that moment he forgot the tiger skin he was wearing. Thus, the falseness of that tiger skin was completely exposed.”
The man slunk away in disgrace amid the crowd's jeers.
Later, the idiom "Sheep in Tiger's Skin" came to describe someone who appears strong on the outside but is actually timid.
Source: Yang Xiong (Han Dynasty), *Model Sayings*, "On the Self"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "羊质虎皮" came to describe how someone who appears strong on the outside but is actually timid.