將信將疑

First attested in the mid-8^th century, in Dirge on an Ancient Battlefield by Li Hua:

生也何恩？殺之何咎？其存其歿，家莫聞知。人或有言，將信將疑。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

---

生也何恩？杀之何咎？其存其殁，家莫闻知。人或有言，将信将疑。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: circa 740s, 李華,《弔古戰場文》(On an Old Battle-field), translated by H. A. Giles

Shēng yě hé ēn? Shā zhī hé jiù? Qí cún qí mò, jiā mò wénzhī. Rén huòyǒu yán, jiāng xìn jiāng yí. [Pinyin]

They owe no thanks for life, for what have they done to deserve death? They may be alive or dead the family knows it not. And if one brings the news, they listen, half doubting, half believing.

Note that the coordinate structure 將…將… can be traced back to the first anthology of Chinese poetry, The Classic of Poetry.

將信將疑

1. to take with a pinch of salt; to be doubtful; to be not quite convinced

• 半信半疑 (bànxìn-bànyí)