Once in the Warring States Period, the State of Jin was at war with the State of Chu. Duke Gong of Chu stood on a high platform built on chariot(二轮战车) and watched the movements of the Jin army. After watching for a while, he said ,"It's quite noisy over there and cloud of dust has been stirred up." His aide answered, "The enemy are filling up wells and destroying their cooking stoves. They are preparring to fight."

This idiom is now used to mean a lot of commotion(骚动，暴乱) over hearsay(传闻，谣言) .

春秋时期，晋国袭击郑国，郑国向楚国求援，楚共王亲率大军援郑，楚军趁晋军毫无防备逼近晋军前阵，想迫使晋军投降，晋厉王采纳范文子的儿子的填灶盖井的建议，于是晋军营尘土飞扬，腾地列阵，楚共王轻敌结果被晋军打败。

该成语原形容军中正忙于准备的状态。后来形容消息普遍淬，议论纷纷。现多指反动言论十分嚣张。