七竅生煙
qī qiào shēng yān
“seven apertures produce smoke”
The seven apertures here are in the human head: the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth.
This is a very graphic description of how one gets so angry that smoke is coming out of the seven apertures.
Perhaps it’s the inspiration behind cartoon caricatures since it’s apparently from the 16th century Ming dynasty novel 西遊記 (xī yóu jì / Journey West / The Monkey King)?
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