What is the 成语 for “face like buddha, heart like scorpion”?

Question

I was watching Raise the Red Lantern (which is an excellent movie by the way) and saw this phrase come up on the subtitles, but wasn't able to catch what the actual Mandarin behind it was. Does anyone know what it translates to?

Answer 1

I didn't see this film, so I am not sure if this is the original one used in the film. From your description, I guess the idiom is "人面兽心", which literally means "a human's face and a beast's heart", actually is used to describe a man who looks kind, but really is vicious, evil or wicked.

By the way, I think you can show us the time point or the scene when this line appears so we can easily catch it for you.

Update: The original word in the film is "菩萨脸,蝎子心". I don't think it's an idiom. I'll treat it as an analogy, a figure of speech. Actually, "菩萨" isn't Buddha, but Bodhisattva, an image in Buddhism. The subtitle translated the meaning well and I think it's easy for you to understand.

Answer 2

面如桃李 心如蛇蝎。I think this idiom should be appropriate, although buddha is 佛陀 in Chinese, but 桃李 means the flowers of peach and plum.

Answer 3

If you insist to have it translated into the idiom, I think 佛口蛇心is the most suitable. It is the closest in meaning, and really is an idiom.