The benefit of 20/20 hindsight
Print Edition
There are always some people quick to play the role of a wiseass after the fact. Chinese people have two expressions to describe such a person.
One is called shihou Zhuge Liang, or 鈥淶huge Liang after the event.鈥
Zhuge Liang (AD 181-234), a famous Chinese statesman, military strategist and prime minister of the State of Shu Han (AD 221-263) during the Three Kingdoms period, is said to have been able to foresee things five centuries into the future.
So, 鈥淶huge Liang after the event鈥 refers to someone who uses the benefit of hindsight to analyze an event after it has occurred and then proceeds to regale others with 鈥渨isdom鈥 about how it could have been handled better. The saying is somewhat akin to the English expression 鈥淢onday morning quarterback.鈥
The other saying is mahoupao, or literally 鈥渃annon after the horse.鈥
This phrase is believed to be borrowed from Chinese chess, a very popular board game also known as 鈥渆lephant chess鈥 in China.
At the onset of the game, players usually prefer to move the cannon piece first. However, if the cannon is moved after an opponent has already moved his horse, the strategy is considered belated and less effective.
The saying 鈥渃annon after the horse鈥 is often a reply to 鈥淚 told you so鈥 鈥 when someone offers unsolicited comment about something that has already occurred and you are pointing out that the past can鈥檛 be changed and, therefore, there鈥檚 no sense dwelling on it.
Or as Homer once observed, 鈥渁fter the event, even a fool is wise.鈥
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