阿諛便佞

Yojijukugo (四字熟語), from 阿諛(あゆ) (ayu, “flattery, cajolery”) + 便佞(べんねい) (bennei, “lip-service, insincere flattery, false adulation”).

Kanjigen cites 便佞 (bennei) to the Analects of Confucius and 阿諛 (ayu) to the Book of Han. However, this combination appears to be a later innovation. According to the Chinese library at Wikisource, the term was already in use in its current form by the Song Dynasty, such as in the work 建炎以來繫年要錄, dated to 1127–1162:

浚因奏：「人材雖難知，但議論剛正，面目嚴冷，則其人必不肯爲非；阿諛便佞，固寵患失，則其人必不可用。」上亦以爲然。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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浚因奏：「人材虽难知，但议论刚正，面目严冷，则其人必不肯为非；阿谀便佞，固宠患失，则其人必不可用。」上亦以为然。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Jùnyīnzòu: “Réncáisuīnánzhī, dànyìlùngāngzhèng, miànmùyánlěng, zéqírénbìbùkěnwèifēi; āyúbiànnìng, gùchǒnghuànshī, zéqírénbìbùkěyòng.” Shàngyìyǐwèirán. [Pinyin]

(please add an English translation of this usage example)

阿(あ)諛(ゆ)便(べん)佞(ねい) • (ayu bennei) 

1. insincere flattery; lip service for the purposes of profiting by adulation
2. sycophant; brownnose, boot-licker

阿(あ)諛(ゆ)便(べん)佞(ねい)する • (ayu bennei suru) intransitive suru (stem 阿(あ)諛(ゆ)便(べん)佞(ねい)し (ayu bennei shi), past 阿(あ)諛(ゆ)便(べん)佞(ねい)した (ayu bennei shita))

1. (intransitive) to practice insincere flattery; to adulate superficially for personal gain

• “阿諛便佞”, in 漢検四字熟語辞典 (Kanken Yojijukugo Jiten, “Kanji Kentei Four-Character-Idiom Dictionary”) (in Japanese), second edition, Tōkyō: Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2012, →ISBN, page 64