Chinese Fable

惊弓之鸟🔊

Jīng Gōng Zhī Niǎo
📚 Fables⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This fable describes someone traumatized by past experiences.

The Story 🔊

Gǔ shíhou yǒu gè shèjiàn gāoshǒu jiào Gēng Léi
古时候Gǔ shíhou🔊有个yǒu gè🔊射箭shèjiàn🔊高手gāoshǒu🔊jiào🔊更羸Gēng Léi🔊
Yì tiān tā hé Wèi Wáng yìqǐ sànbù
一天Yì tiān🔊🔊🔊魏王Wèi Wáng🔊一起yìqǐ🔊散步sànbù🔊
Tiān shàng fēi lái yì zhī dàyàn Gēng Léi shuō wǒ zhǐyào lā yí xià gōngxián jiù néng bǎ tā shè xiàlái
天上Tiān shàng🔊飞来fēi lái🔊一只yì zhī🔊大雁dàyàn🔊更羸Gēng Léi🔊shuō🔊🔊只要zhǐyào🔊拉一下lā yí xià🔊弓弦gōngxián🔊就能jiù néng🔊把它bǎ tā🔊射下来shè xiàlái🔊
Wèi Wáng bù xìn Gēng Léi jiù lā le yí xià gōngxián dàyàn guǒrán diào le xiàlái
魏王Wèi Wáng🔊不信bù xìn🔊更羸Gēng Léi🔊jiù🔊拉了lā le🔊一下yí xià🔊弓弦gōngxián🔊大雁dàyàn🔊果然guǒrán🔊掉了下来diào le xiàlái🔊
Yuánlái zhè zhī dàyàn céngjīng shòu guò shāng tīngdào gōngxián de shēngyīn jiù xià huài le
原来Yuánlái🔊这只zhè zhī🔊大雁dàyàn🔊曾经céngjīng🔊受过伤shòu guò shāng🔊听到tīngdào🔊弓弦gōngxián🔊的声音de shēngyīn🔊jiù🔊吓坏了xià huài le🔊
English Translation:
In ancient times, there was an archery master named Geng Lei. One day, he was walking with the King of Wei. A wild goose flew overhead, and Geng Lei said: "I only need to pluck the bowstring and I can shoot it down." The King did not believe him. Geng Lei plucked the bowstring, and the goose indeed fell down. It turned out this goose had been injured before, and was terrified just hearing the sound of the bowstring.

Key Vocabulary

惊弓之鸟
jīng gōng zhī niǎo
a bird startled by a bow
弓弦
gōngxián
bowstring
射箭
shèjiàn
archery
受伤
shòu shāng
injured
吓坏
xià huài
terrified
果然
guǒrán
as expected

The Moral

Past trauma leaves lasting fear! This idiom describes someone frightened by past experiences.

Cultural Insight

惊弓之鸟 comes from "Strategies of the Warring States" (战国策).