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.”
Hiding One’s Light
韬光养晦 To hide one’s abilities and keep them out of view. The Handian dictionary cites a Qing novel: “You must hide your light, and then watch the timing of heaven.”
In Chinese foreign policy, the phrase is linked to Deng Xiaoping’s guidance around 1990. Sources differ on the exact wording of his formula and on when he first used it. The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping record a related line: “We must never take the lead. This is a basic state policy.”
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.
Strategy in the Tent
In the Records of the Grand Historian, Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, speaks of his strategist. “In devising strategy within the tent and deciding victory a thousand li away, I am not the equal of Zifang,” he says. Zifang was Zhang Liang.
The idiom yunchou weiwo, to devise strategy in the tent, now means to plan and direct.
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.
Borrowing Arrows With Straw Boats
In chapter 46 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu asks Zhuge Liang for 100,000 arrows. Zhuge Liang promises: “In just three days, I can deliver one hundred thousand arrows. If I fail in three days, I accept severe punishment.”
On the third night, “a heavy fog filled the sky.” His boats sail toward Cao Cao’s fleet, and Cao Cao’s archers shoot into the fog. As the boats turn back, full of arrows, the men call out: “Thank you, Chancellor, for the arrows!”
The historical record gives a similar trick with arrows to Sun Quan, not to Zhuge Liang.
Words for One’s Own People
家丑不可外扬 Family shame must not be spread outside. The private failings of a family are not to be made known to outsiders. The Handian dictionary cites an earlier form, 家丑不外扬, from the Song dynasty Compendium of Five Lamps (五灯会元).
一家人不说两家话 One family does not speak the words of two families. Among one’s own people, there is no need for polite formulas.
体己话 Intimate words. The private talk between people who are close. The Handian dictionary takes its example from Dream of the Red Chamber.
知根知底 To know the root and the bottom. To know someone well. The dictionary’s example reads: “We are old friends. We know each other through and through.”
Holding Back a Move
In his essay Secrets of Writing (作文秘诀), Lu Xun wrote: “A boxing master holds back a move when he teaches his pupils. He fears that once they have learned everything, they will beat him to death and take his place.”
Doctors have secret prescriptions, cooks secret methods and pastry shops secret recipes. “To protect their family’s livelihood, it is said, these are taught only to the sons’ wives and not to the daughters, so that they do not pass to other families.”
The phrase is 留一手, to keep back one hand. The Handian dictionary defines it as keeping some skills back and not bringing them out. A popular tale tells how the cat taught the tiger everything except how to climb trees. When the tiger tried to eat its teacher, the cat escaped up a tree.
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.