螳螂捕蟬 (táng láng bǔ chán)-英文版成語典故

2024年3月26日發(作者：峭壁)

螳螂捕蟬 (táng láng bǔ chán)

Wasted Warnings

A cicada, a praying mantis, an oriole and a young man. Can

you guess what's special about the four? If not,your Chine

friends will tell you that this peculiar group is responsible

for a famous and also thought-provoking expression in the

Chine language.

The story concerning this idiom, Tang Lang Bu Chan, or a

praying mantis stalks a cicada, dates back to the lateSpring

and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

After defeating the State of Yue, the king of the State of

Wu became arrogant and indulged himlf in creaturecomforts.

He was not aware that the king of the State of Yue was

undergoing great lf-impod hardship in order tostrengthen

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 potentialdanger. But

the king turned a deaf ear to the warnings and finally, fed up

with Wu's nagging, ordered theofficial to commit suicide.

Meanwhile, the king of Yue was preparing to launch attacks

against the State of Wu. Seeing the pendingdanger, Crown Prince

You of the State of Wu decided to u a ploy to convince the

king that something mustbe 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 e the kingof Wu. "What

happened to you?" the kind asked. The crown prince then told

the king the following story:

"When I went into the garden early this morning, I saw a

cicada chirping on a tree and a praying mantissneakily

approaching the inct from behind.

"As the praying mantis was about to strike, it didn't notice

an oriole waiting for an opportunity for a quickmeal.

"I thought the bird did not notice that I was standing under

the tree with a slingshot in my hand, so I decidedto step

backward and shoot the bird. However, I failed to e there was

a small pond behind me and when Istepped 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," theking said. "You

must take a lesson from this."

"Yes," the crown prince answered. "But, others should also

draw a lesson from my mirable experience."

"What do you mean?" the king asked. The crown prince

elaborated that for no reason, the State of Qi invadedthe 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 suspectthat 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 donot 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 ized thewhole kingdom.

The king of Wu killed himlf.

So, when one is so eager to lay his hands on the gains ahead,

he should think about this Chine idiom of a cicada, a praying

mantis, an oriole and a young man.