In the Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū 春秋時期,770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (xī shī 西施). She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted. There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi. Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time. She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.
Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverse effect.
傳說春秋時期,越國有一美女,名喚西施,不僅有沉魚落雁之容,閉月羞花之貌,而且就是平時所做的任何一個動作,都是非常美的。因此常有一些姑娘模仿她的衣著,裝束;也常有一些人有意無意地模仿她的行為舉止。有一天西施患病,心口非常痛。她出去洗衣服時,皺著眉頭,用一只手捂著胸口,走在路上雖然非常難受,但旁人看來今天的西施卻又別有一番風姿。西施有一鄰居容貌長的很丑,見西施人長的美,時常效仿西施的衣著。這一天,她看到西施用手捂著胸口,皺著眉頭的樣子后,感到非常美。于是她就跟著學起這個樣子來了。本來容貌就丑,又皺起了眉頭,本來形體就含胸弓背,卻又捂住了胸,弄得更加丑陋不堪,后人就把這個典故說成是《東施效顰》。這個典故深刻地反映了內容與形式的關系,比喻不恰當的模仿,帶來相反的效果。
東施效顰【翻譯】Aping the beauty’s frown.