百步穿杨　(bǎi bù chuān yáng)

Shooting a Willow Leaf

There must be hundreds of ways to evaluate a sharp-shooter. But for the Chinese, the sole qualification for an expert marksman is Bai Bu Chuan Yang or “to pierce a willow leaf with an arrow from the distance of 100 paces.”

The expression is derived from a story about a legendary archer named Yang Youji.

Yang lived in the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He started to practice martial arts and archery when he was just a child. As he grew older, Yang became a top archer in his home district.

One day, Yang watched a group of young archers compete near his home. First, they shot a target erected beneath a willow tree at a distance of about 50 paces. Most seemed to do quite well, so it was difficult to judge who was the best archer.

Yang then suggested someone paint a willow leaf red and then the competitors shoot at the leaf from the distance of 100 paces. One by one, the archers tried and failed to hit the red willow leaf which was constantly quivering in the gentle breeze.

“Let me have a try,” Yang finally said.

Taking the bow, he held his breath and concentrated on the crimson willow leaf. When he slowly released his grip, the arrow flew through the air with a powerful whoosh and pierced a hole in the painted leaf.

Loud applause burst from the onlookers.

However, one of the young archers dared Yang to shoot down more willow leaves to prove he was really a sharp shooter. Yang agreed.

He collected 100 arrows and then shot them one after another. All the people present were awed to see that out of the 100 shots, Yang had 100 bull’s eyes.

Since then, this idiom has become a widely quoted expression to describe an expert marksman regardless of whether he uses an arrow, a stone, a knife, a gun or a rocket.