狡兔三窟 (jiǎo tù sān kū)
The Wily Hare
Despite the different cultural backgrounds, Chinese and English idioms are sometimes surprisingly alike. For example, while they may say in English “a hare with only one burrow is soon caught,” people in China have the idiom Jiao Tu San Ku, or “a wily hare has three burrows.”
Most Chinese idioms boast a very long history, and this one about the “wily hare” dates back more than 2,000 years.
During the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), Meng Changjun was the prime minister of the State of Qi, a position that afforded him more than 3,000 protégés. Among them was a very clever person by the name of Feng Xuan.
One day, Meng asked his protégés, “Who is willing to help me collect the capital plus interest that I have loaned to people living in the Xue area?”
Feng, who had long failed to attract the prime minister’s attention, eagerly answered, “I’m willing to go.”
Meng then told Feng that instead of bringing back the money, he could use it to buy whatever he deemed useful for his patron.
After arriving in Xue, Feng called all the debtors together and burned the loan contracts in front of them. He said the prime minister had forgiven all their debts because of the poor harvests they had suffered in recent few years.
Most people present were moved to tears and cheered, “Long live the prime minister!”
When Feng returned to the capital, the prime minister asked: “What have you bought for me?”
Feng answered, “I found you had everything except popularity, so I have burned all the loan contracts and returned popularity to you.”
The prime minister was not happy to learn what Feng had done, but it was too late to change things.
A year later, Meng was dismissed by the king of Qi. The 3,000 protégés subsequently left him and only Feng remained loyal to the disgraced official. Feng persuaded his patron to go to the Xue area and the latter agreed.
After learning that the former prime minister was visiting, people traveled as far as more than a dozen kilometers to greet him. Meng was very moved by the warm welcome, and he told Feng, “Only today can I begin to understand the value of what you bought for me last year.”
But Feng said: “A wily hare has three burrows and a crafty man should have more than one hideout. I will build two more ‘burrows’ for you.”
Later, the clever young Feng got the king to reinstate Meng as his prime minister and entrust him with the task of building a royal shrine.
Meng decided to build the shrine in the Xue area where it would be protected by royal troops.
After it was completed, Feng told Meng, “Prime Minister, now you have your office, the support of the Xue people, and a protected shrine. You therefore have three ‘burrows’ and can begin to sit back and relax.”