"The sound of wind and the cry of cranes" comes from the "Biography of Xie Xuan" in the Book of Jin, which records that during the Battle of Fei River, the army of Fu Jian of the Former Qin collapsed and fled, and upon hearing the sound of wind and the cry of cranes, they all thought they were pursuing troops of the Jin army. The literal meaning of the idiom is "the sound of wind and the cry of cranes," and its deeper meaning is to describe people who, in extreme panic and fear, become suspicious and treat irrelevant sounds as threats. It is often used to describe scenes of defeat, flight, or psychological collapse, with a strong derogatory and sarcastic tone, emphasizing the loss of normal judgment due to fear. In terms of cultural background, it reflects the effectiveness of psychological warfare in ancient Chinese military affairs and also warns people to stay calm and not be dominated by fear. Its usage scenarios are mostly to describe mass panic, chaos caused by rumors, or someone overreacting out of a guilty conscience. In emotional color, it contains both sympathy for the panicked and criticism of their being overly frightened by mere shadows and sounds.
📝 Example
1. After the news of the company layoffs spread, the employees were in a state of extreme panic, jumping at every sound—even the noise of the printer made them think the HR department was calling out names. (Describing extreme fear and paranoia)
2. Ever since that burglary, she has been overly vigilant at night, jumping at every sound—even a cat's meow made her think a thief was coming. (Describing excessive alertness due to fear)