The mantis catches the cicada, the Yellow sparrow is behind(táng láng bǔ chán，huáng què zài hòu)

The mantis catches the cicada, the Yellow sparrow is behind

"The mantis catches the cicada, the Yellow sparrow comes after" comes from Shuoyuan Zhengjian. It satirizes those who only care about the immediate interests but not the future disasters, and gives a warning to those who are short-sighted, blinded by profits and regardless of future disasters.

meaning

It tells us that when we think about problems and deal with things, we should think carefully and consider the consequences. We should not only focus on immediate interests, but also ignore future troubles. Mantis catching cicadas: mantis wants to catch cicadas, but it doesn't know the potential danger. It is short-sighted. Wait for the moment to attack from behind. There are also worries.

source

"There are trees in the garden, on which there are cicadas. Cicadas live high, whistling and drinking dew. I don't know that mantis is behind them! Praying Mantis devotes itself to Qu Fu. It wants to take cicada but does not care to know that the Yellow sparrow is near it! The Yellow finch wants to peck the mantis without knowing that the bullet is under it! All three of them want to gain their advantages, regardless of their disadvantages. " Chuang Tzu Shanmu: "only when you see a cicada, can you get a beautiful shade and forget its body; when you see a mantis, you will forget its shape; when you see a bird, you will benefit it, and you will forget its truth." (notes of Yuewei thatched cottage, Volume 4, Huaixi magazine, Qing Dynasty): "a few years later, I heard that a Taoist priest was struck by lightning in Shandong Province. Or was it that the Taoist priest killed himself excessively, and then he was killed by heaven? "The mantis catches the cicada, and the Yellow sparrow comes after it." the bomb carrier comes after it According to Han Ying's Han Shi waizhuan, "the mantis wants to eat cicadas, but it doesn't know that the Yellow sparrow is behind. It raises its neck to peck and eat them." This idiom comes from Liu Xiang's Shuoyuan Zhengjian. There is a story recorded in the book: the king of Wu wanted to cut down on Jing, and told him to say: "those who dare to admonish will die!". If there are young children who want to remonstrate and dare not, they will swim in the backyard with pills and their clothes exposed. The king of Wu said, "why do you have to stick your clothes like this He said: "there are trees in the garden, on which there are cicadas. Cicadas live high, whistling and drinking dew. I don't know that mantis is behind them! The mantis sticks to its body to capture cicadas, but does not care to know that the Yellow sparrow is near it; the Yellow sparrow extends its neck to peck the mantis, but does not know that the bullet is under it! All three of them want to gain their advantages, regardless of their disadvantages. " King Wu said, "good! "It's a fight. In the spring and Autumn period, the king of the state of Wu prepared to attack Jingdi (the state of Chu) and was opposed by his ministers. The king of Wu was very angry and warned at the meeting of summoning all the officials: "if you dare to advise those who send troops, I will put them to death!" at this time, there was a young man who knew that he was in a low position and that his advice would have no effect. He would only be executed. Every morning, he walked around the back garden of the palace with his slingshot and bullets, and soaked his clothes with dew for many days. The king of Wu was very strange and asked, "why?" The young man said: "there is a cicada on the big tree in the garden. While it is singing and drinking dew, it doesn't know that there is a mantis behind it. The mantis wants to catch cicadas, but it doesn't know that there is a yellow sparrow next to it. When the Yellow sparrow is about to peck the mantis, how can it know that my bullet has targeted it? All three of them are concerned only with the immediate interests and can't see the disaster behind them. " Inspired by this, King Wu cancelled the military operation.

Idioms and allusions

original text

The king of Wu wanted to cut down Jing, and told him to say: "those who dare to remonstrate will die!" There are a few children who want to remonstrate and dare not, so they swim in the backyard with pills and their clothes exposed. The king of Wu said, "why do you have to stick your clothes like this He said: "there are trees in the garden, on which there are cicadas. The cicadas sing and drink dew, but they don't know that the mantis is behind them. The mantis bent to get cicadas, but they don't know that the Yellow sparrow is beside them. The Yellow sparrow extends its neck, but it wants to peck the mantis, but it doesn't know that the bullet is under it. All three of them want to gain the former benefits, regardless of the later troubles. " The king of Wu said, "good!" It's time to stop fighting.

translate

The king of Wu wanted to attack the state of Chu and told his ministers: "I will kill all those who dare to advise me not to send troops!" There was a young man among the servants of the king of Wu who wanted to admonish the king of Wu, but he didn't dare. He wandered in the backyard with a bullet in his arms and a slingshot in his hand. The dew got wet on his clothes, and spent a few days like this. King Wu said, "why do you work so hard to wet your clothes?" The young man replied, "there is a tree in the garden. There is a cicada on the tree. The cicada is at a high place, whistling and sucking the dew, but it doesn't know that the mantis is is behind it. The mantis leans close to the branch and bends its forelimbs to catch the cicada, but it doesn't know that the Yellow finch is beside it. The Yellow finch stretches its neck to peck the mantis, but it doesn't know that the man with the catapult is behind it It's under the wall. All three of them must want immediate benefits without considering the hidden dangers behind them. " The king of Wu said, "good!" So King Wu stopped sending troops.

Text content

From the tenth lesson of the sixth grade (Volume II) of Chinese published by Jiangsu Phoenix Education Press of Jiangsu Education Press, the king of Wu is going to attack the state of Chu, which is opposed by some ministers. The ministers believed that although there was great hope of winning the attack on Chu, if other Vassal States took advantage of the situation, the consequences would be unimaginable. But King Wu stubbornly said, "Whoever dares to dissuade me, I will put him to death!" There was a young man who served the king of Wu. After listening to the comments of the ministers, he wanted to persuade the king of Wu. But the king of Wu has given a death order. What should we do? The next morning, with a catapult, he walked around the palace garden. He didn't mind the dew getting on his clothes and shoes. In this way, three mornings in a row. The boy was finally discovered by the king of Wu. King Wu asked, "what are you doing in the garden in the morning? Look, your clothes are wet with dew The boy replied, "report to the king, I'm fighting birds." King Wu asked, "did you catch the bird?" The boy said, "I didn't catch a bird, but I saw something very interesting." The king of Wu came and asked, "what's the matter?" "there is a tree in the garden. There is a cicada on the tree. He is drinking dew, but he doesn't know there is a mantis behind him. The mantis arched and raised its front paws to catch cicadas, but did not know that there was a yellow sparrow behind it King Wu praised and said, "you look so carefully! Does the Yellow finch want to catch Mantis? " The boy then said, "yes, the Yellow finch craned its neck to peck at the mantis, but I didn't know I was aiming at it with a catapult. Cicada, mantis and yellow sparrow all want to get immediate benefits, but they don't care about the disaster behind them After listening to the young man's words, the king of Wu suddenly realized and repeatedly said, "yes! yes! You have a point! " So he gave up the idea of attacking Chu.

words whose meaning is similar

Short sighted, eager for quick success, etc

Inspiration from truth

It warns people that they should not only consider the immediate interests, but also the disasters behind them.

Chinese PinYin : táng láng bǔ chán，huáng què zài hòu