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螳螂捕蝉 (tang2 lang2 bu3 chan2) - Wasted warnings
By Zhang Ciyun |
July 26, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A CICADA, a praying mantis, an oriole and a young man. Can you guess what's special about the four? If not, your Chinese friends will tell you that this peculiar group is responsible for a famous and thought-provoking idiom in the Chinese language.
The story concerning this idiom, tang2 lang2 bu3 chan2, or a praying mantis stalks a cicada, dates back to the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).
After defeating the State of Yue, the king of the State of Wu became arrogant and indulged himself in creature comforts.
He was not aware that the king of the State of Yue was undergoing great self-imposed hardship in order to strengthen his resolve to wipe out the humiliation of his defeat.
Wu Zixu, an upright official in the court of the State of Wu, repeatedly warned the king about the potential danger. But the king turned a deaf ear to the warnings and finally, fed up with Wu's nagging, ordered the official to commit suicide.
Meanwhile, the king of Yue was preparing to launch attacks against the State of Wu. Seeing the pending danger, Crown Prince You of the State of Wu decided to use a ploy to convince the king that something must be done to fend off the coming attacks.
One day, the crown prince, with a slingshot in his hand and wet like a drenched chicken, went to see the king of Wu. "What happened to you?" the kind asked. The crown prince then told the king the following story:
"When I went into the garden this morning, I saw a cicada chirping on a tree and a praying mantis sneakily approaching the insect from behind.
"As the mantis was about to strike, it didn't notice an oriole waiting for an opportunity for a quick meal.
"I thought the bird did not notice that I was standing under the tree with a slingshot in my hand, so I decided to step backward and shoot the bird. However, I failed to see there was a small pond behind me and when I stepped back, I fell in."
After listening to You's story, the king of Wu burst into laughter. "You are stupid. You care too much about the gains ahead without being aware of the danger behind," the king said. "You must take a lesson from this."
"Yes," the crown prince answered. "But, others should also draw a lesson from my experience."
"What do you mean?" the king asked. The crown prince said that for no reason, the State of Qi invaded the State of Lu, but it did not expect that the State of Wu would attack it from the rear.
And now, the State of Wu had become complacent after its victory over the State of Yue, but did not suspect that the latter was preparing to mount an offensive.
The king of Wu angrily interrupted You, saying: "You are playing the same old tune as Wu Zixu did before. I do not want to hear about this any more."
A few years later, the State of Yue's troops launched a mass invasion of the State of Wu and soon seized the whole kingdom. The king of Wu killed himself.
So, when one is so eager to lay his hands on the gains ahead, he should think about this Chinese idiom of a cicada, a praying mantis, an oriole and a young man.
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