Open Outcomes Archives - understand-culture

The Old Man Who Lost His Horse

In the Huainanzi, a man skilled in divination lives near the frontier. His horse runs off to the nomads. People console him. His father says: “How do we know this is not good fortune?” Months later, the horse returns with a fine nomad horse. People congratulate him. The father says: “How do we know this is not misfortune?” The son loves to ride, falls and breaks his thigh. The father says again that it may be good fortune.

A year later, the nomads invade. The able-bodied men take up their bows and fight, and nine in ten of the people near the frontier die. Because he is lame, the son is spared. “Fortune turns into misfortune, and misfortune into fortune. The changes have no end, and their depth cannot be measured.”

Sayings on Turning Fortunes

三十年河东，三十年河西 Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. In chapter 46 of Wu Jingzi’s novel The Scholars, a character says: “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Thirty years ago, how grand your two households were. I saw it with my own eyes.”

胜不骄，败不馁 Not proud in victory, not disheartened in defeat. The Handian dictionary traces it to the Book of Lord Shang: “The army of a true king is not proud when it wins and not resentful when it loses.”

Down Three Times, Up Three Times

In the Jiangxi soviet, the Party’s leftist leadership removed Deng Xiaoping from his posts for supporting Mao Zedong’s line. After the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, he lost all his leading posts. He was restored as vice premier in March 1973. In April 1976, he was again removed from all posts. In July 1977, the Third Plenum of the Tenth Central Committee restored his former posts in the Party, the state and the army.

In 1985, according to The Paper, he described himself as “a man who has gone down three times and come up three times.”

Waiting for the Time

藏器待时 To keep one’s tools hidden and wait for the time. To build one’s abilities and wait for the moment to use them. The phrase comes from the Book of Changes: “The gentleman keeps his tools on his person and waits for the time to act.” (君子藏器于身，待时而动)

The End of Lü Bu

In early 199, Cao Cao captured the general Lü Bu at Xiapi. Lü Bu had served Ding Yuan and killed him, then served Dong Zhuo, who had sworn to be his father, and killed him too. Bound before Cao Cao, he offered to lead Cao Cao’s cavalry. Cao Cao considered keeping him. Liu Bei, who was present, asked whether Cao Cao had forgotten what happened to Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu was strangled.

The historian Chen Shou judged him “fickle and cunning, looking only to profit.”

The Day After Tomorrow

On June 29, 2014, Jack Ma, chairman of the Alibaba Group, spoke at the graduation ceremony of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University. He shared his motto: “Today is cruel, tomorrow is crueler, and the day after tomorrow is beautiful. But most people ‘die’ tomorrow night.”

A Fall Into the Ditch

吃一堑，长一智 Fall into a ditch once, gain a measure of wisdom. A setback is a lesson. The Handian dictionary traces the saying to a letter by the Ming thinker Wang Yangming: “Each stumble adds to one’s wisdom. Today’s loss may yet become tomorrow’s gain.”

Thinking of Danger in Times of Safety

居安思危，思则有备，有备无患 “In safety, think of danger. Thinking of it, one is prepared. Being prepared, one meets no disaster.” The words appear in the Zuo Commentary, under the eleventh year of Duke Xiang.

The Handian dictionary explains the first four characters: even in a peaceful situation, keep in mind that danger may come, and be ready in thought for the unexpected.

When the Water Arrives

水到渠成 Where the water flows, a channel forms. When conditions are ripe, a matter succeeds on its own. Su Shi wrote in a letter to Qin Taixu: “When the time comes, make other plans. When the water arrives, the channel forms. There is no need to worry in advance.”

瓜熟蒂落 When the melon is ripe, its stem falls away. Once the time is ripe, a matter succeeds naturally.

火候 The strength and duration of a fire. Also, figuratively, a level of attainment, or the crucial moment.

造势 To build momentum. To create a favorable situation through publicity and similar means.

Repeatedly Defeated, Repeatedly Fighting

A well-known story tells of a report to the throne from the army of Zeng Guofan. It said: “Your servant’s army fought repeatedly and was repeatedly defeated” (屡战屡北). The words were turned around to read “repeatedly defeated, repeatedly fighting” (屡北屡战). The facts stayed the same, but they now read as persistence.

The story exists in several versions. Tradition credits the change to Zeng’s secretary, Ma Jiading. Other accounts say the report was by another commander, or that Zeng made the change himself. The article that records these versions gives no primary source.