Upright dragon pats the tiger

正龙拍虎 (zhèng lóng pāi hǔ): upright dragon pats the tiger

This phrase, written in the style of traditional four-character idioms, refers to phony pictures of the endangered South China Tiger produced by Zhou Zhenglong (whose name literally means “upright dragon.”) The word “pat” can also mean to “take a picture of.” Much of the humor of the phrase comes from the fact that it sounds like other Chinese idioms that reference ancient fables involving animals.

Zhou’s fake pictures were accepted as authentic by the government until netizens pointed out their uncanny resemblance to a poster published years earlier.

The 2017 Elementary School Idiom Dictionary which includes the term, "upright dragon pats the tiger."