Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake

Wǔdài-shíguó de Nántáng shíqī, Jùróng xiàn (zài jīntiān de Jiāngsū) yǒu yí wèi xiànlìng, míng jiào Wáng Lǔ.

During the Southern Tang of the Five Dynasties period, in Jurong County (in today's Jiangsu), there was a magistrate named Wang Lu.

Wáng Lǔ wéirén tāncái, píngshí hé shǒuxià de guānlì yìqǐ shōushòu huìlù, bǎixìngmen zǎoyǐ yuànshēng-zàidào.

Wang Lu was greedy by nature, and together with the clerks under him he often took bribes; the common people had long complained bitterly.

Yǒu yì tiān, yí wèi bǎixìng xiě le yí fèn zhuàngzhǐ, dào xiànyá zhuànggào Wáng Lǔ shǒuxià de yí ge zhǔbù tānzāng-wǎngfǎ.

One day, a commoner wrote a formal complaint and went to the county office to accuse one of Wang Lu's subordinates, a registrar, of corruption and bending the law.

Zhuàngzhǐ shàng bǎ zhǔbù de yì tiáo tiáo zuìxíng xiě de qīngqīng-chǔchǔ, kě Wáng Lǔ yí kàn, xīn lǐ dùnshí gēdēng yí xià.

The complaint listed the registrar's crimes one by one in clear detail; but when Wang Lu read it, his heart gave a sudden lurch.

Yuánlái, zhèxiē tānzāng-wǎngfǎ de shì, Wáng Lǔ zìjǐ yě dàduō zuò guò, zhuāng zhuāng jiàn jiàn dōu néng duì shàng hào.

It turned out that Wang Lu himself had committed most of these same corrupt acts—every single item could be matched to something he had done.

Tā yuè kàn yuè hàipà, shǒu dōu fā qǐ dǒu lái, shēngpà xià yí ge bèi zhuànggào de jiùshì zìjǐ.

The more he read, the more afraid he became; his hands began to tremble, for fear that the next person to be accused would be himself.

Jīnghuāng zhī zhōng, Wáng Lǔ suíshǒu zài nà zhāng zhuàngzhǐ shàng xiě xià le yí jù huà: “Rǔ suī dǎ cǎo, wú yǐ jīng shé.”

In his panic, Wang Lu casually wrote a line on the complaint: "Though you only beat the grass, I, the snake, am already startled."

Tā de yìsi shì: nǐ běnlái zhǐ xiǎng dǎ cǎo (zhuànggào zhǔbù), què yǐjīng jīngdòng le cáng zài cǎo lǐ de wǒ zhè tiáo shé.

His meaning was: you only meant to beat the grass (accuse the registrar), yet you have already startled me, the snake hiding in it.

Zhè jù huà hěn kuài chuán le chūqù, cóngcǐ “dǎ cǎo jīng shé” biàn chéng le rénrén shúzhī de chéngyǔ.

This line soon spread, and from then on "beating the grass to startle the snake" became an idiom known to everyone.

“Dǎ cǎo jīng shé” shuō de jiùshì: hái méi zhēnzhèng dòngshǒu jiù xiān nào chū dòngjing, jiéguǒ fǎndào jīngdòng le duìfāng, ràng tā yǒu le fángbèi.

"Beating the grass to startle the snake" means: making noise before you truly act, and thereby alerting the other side and putting them on guard.

Bǐrú zài yì jiā gōngsī lǐ, yǒu rén xiǎng jiēfā tóngshì zuòbì, què bù xiǎoxīn zǒulòu le fēngsheng, bèi jiēfā de rén lìkè xiāohuǐ le zhèngjù.

For example, in a company, someone wants to expose a colleague's cheating, but carelessly lets the news slip; the person exposed immediately destroys the evidence.

Tā tíxǐng wǒmen: yào bàn chéng yí jiàn shì, shíjī wèi dào shí yídìng yào chén de zhù qì, guò zǎo xíngdòng zhǐ huì ràng duìshǒu yǒu suǒ zhǔnbèi.

It reminds us: to get something done, you must keep your composure until the time is right; acting too soon only gives your opponent time to prepare.