A Frightened Bird
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The king of Zhao sent his envoy, Wei Jia, to Chu to discuss their alliance against Qin. In a meeting with Lord Chunshen, prime minister of Chu, Wei Jia asked him who would lead Chu’s army.
“Lord Linwu will be the commander.”
Wei Jia frowned at Lord Linwu’s name. “I was fond of archery when I was young. If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you a story about archery.”
“Please do.”
“One day General Geng Lei was accompanying the king of Wei on a hunting excursion. Seeing a wild goose come flying from the east, he said to the king, ‘I can shoot down the bird with an empty bow.’
“‘An empty bow? With no arrow?’
“‘Yes, Your Majesty.’
“At that moment the goose came near. Geng Lei raised his bow, aimed at it and pulled the string. Twang! The bird fell as though it had been hit by an arrow.
“The king was surprised. ‘How did you do that?’
“‘The bird was already wounded by an arrow.’
“‘How do you know?’
“‘I noticed it was flying with difficulty, falling behind its companions. Its painful calls told me it had been wounded. When I pulled the bowstring, the twang frightened it because it thought another arrow was coming. As it was making a desperate attempt to dodge the arrow, the old wound burst. So it fell from the sky.’
“Now to come back to what we were talking. Lord Linwu has been beaten by Qin’s army. He may have a lingering fear. If I were you, I wouldn’t reappoint him.”
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Wise Proverbs
- Failure is the mother of success.
- 失败是成功之母。
- Previous experience and lessons can be used as a refernce or warning for future actions.
- 前世之不忘，后事之师。
- Without experiencing the matter yourself, you cannot obtain knowledge and insight into it.
- 不经一事，不长一智。
Editor Says:
This might not be the case. If Lord Linwu had learned from his experience, he could well do a better job next time.