Point at the Mulberry, Curse the Locust

Chūnqiū shíqī, Qí Jǐnggōng fēicháng xǐhuan mǎ, zhuānmén pàile yì míng yǔrén tì tā jīngxīn zhàoliào.

During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Jing of Qi loved horses dearly and appointed a special groom to care for them.

Xiàngguó Yàn Yīng wéirén zhèngzhí, chángcháng zhíyán jìnjiàn, shì Qí Jǐnggōng zuì yǐzhòng de dàchén.

His chancellor Yan Ying was an upright man who often spoke out frankly, and was the minister Duke Jing relied on most.

Shuí zhī yǒu yì tiān, yì pǐ zuì xīn'ài de mǎ tūrán bìng sǐ, Qí Jǐnggōng bórán-dànù, xiàlìng yào bǎ yǎngmǎrén chǔsǐ.

One day, to everyone's surprise, the duke's favorite horse suddenly fell ill and died; in a towering rage, Duke Jing ordered the groom put to death.

Qúnchén fēnfān shàng qián quànzǔ, Qí Jǐnggōng què yígài bù tīng, shuí zài duōyán jiù yào zhì shuí de zuì.

The courtiers one by one tried to dissuade him, but the duke would hear none of it, threatening to punish anyone who spoke further.

Yàn Yīng jiàn zhuàng, bìng bù dāngmiàn dǐngzhuàng, fǎn'ér shùnzhe guójūn de yìsi, zhuǎnshēn “shēngtǎo” qǐ nà ge yǎngmǎrén.

Seeing this, Yan Ying did not confront the duke head-on; instead he played along, and turned to “denounce” the groom himself.

Tā zǒu dào yǎngmǎrén miànqián, lìshēng shǔluo tā de “sān tiáo dàzuì”, yì tiáo bǐ yì tiáo xiàrén.

He stepped before the groom and loudly counted out his “three great crimes,” each more damning than the last.

“Qí yī, nǐ bǎ guójūn zuì ài de mǎ yǎng sǐ le; qí èr, nǐ ràng guójūn yīnwèi yì pǐ mǎ qù shā rén; qí sān, nǐ ràng tiānxià zhūhóu dōu zhīdào wǒmen guójūn zhòng mǎ qīng rén!”

“First, you let the duke's favorite horse die; second, you make the duke kill a man over a horse; third, you let every lord under heaven know that our duke values horses more than people!”

Qí Jǐnggōng tīng wán, lìkè xǐngwù guòlái —— Yàn Yīng míngzhe zài mà yǎngmǎrén, qíshí shì zài fěngjiàn zìjǐ.

Hearing this, Duke Jing suddenly understood: Yan Ying was nominally scolding the groom, but actually rebuking the duke himself.

Tā xiūkuì-nándāng, gǎnjǐn xiàlìng shèmiǎnle yǎngmǎrén, cóngcǐ yùshì gèngjiā yuànyì tīngcóng Yàn Yīng de quàngào.

Deeply ashamed, he at once pardoned the groom, and from then on was far more willing to heed Yan Ying's counsel.

Zhè biàn shì “zhǐ-sāng-mà-huái” —— míngzhe zhǐzhe zhè ge rén、zhè jiàn shì, shíjì què shì shuō gěi lìng yí ge rén tīng.

This is “pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust”: ostensibly aimed at one person or one thing, but really meant for someone else to hear.

Bǐrú kāi bānhuì shí, lǎoshī bù dāngmiàn diǎnpò mǒu ge tóngxué, ér shì jiǎng yí ge xiāngsì de xiǎo gùshi, ràng nà wèi tóngxué zìjǐ míngbai.

For example, at a class meeting, instead of singling out a particular student, a teacher might tell a similar little story and let that student realize it on his own.

Tā de zhìhuì zàiyú: pángqiāo-cèjī jì néng ràng rén xǐngwù, yòu bǎoquánle bǐcǐ de miànzi, bìmiǎnle zhèngmiàn chōngtū.

Its wisdom lies here: an indirect nudge can awaken understanding while sparing everyone's face and avoiding an open clash.