A Chinese Idiom Story of Not Flying Away

The Idiom Story of Not Flying Away

Interpretation

Wing: wings. Without wings but flew away. It is a metaphor for the sudden loss of an object or something that spreads very quickly.

Source

Guanzi - Precepts: "The sound of those who fly without wings."

Story

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi, with the help of his prime minister Guan Zhong, made the state of Qi more and more powerful. He united with Yan to defeat the Northern Rong, rescued Xing and Wei, and stopped the expansion of the Rong and Di into the Central Plains, and then united with the lords of the Central Plains to attack Chu and Cai, and curbed their development into the Central Plains, and Qi soon became the first hegemon in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the country was stabilized, Duke Huan of Qi wanted to follow the example of the ancient emperors Yao and Shun, and asked Guan Zhong for advice before he left. Guanzhong said: "The purpose of a king's trip is different, some of them are to inspect the agricultural affairs of different places and understand the people's hardship, while some of them are to enjoy the mountains and the water and to have fun. All the wise kings who traveled in the past belonged to the former rather than the latter. I hope that the great king will be prudent and never forget the state of the country, for a king's words and deeds have a great influence, and words spoken spread so fast that they can fly thousands of miles away even without wings." Upon hearing this, Duke Huan of Qi immediately ordered the cancelation of the scheduled parade.