Chinese Idioms: 狡兔三窟 & 雞鳴狗盜

Do you like to make friends? What do friends mean to you? For 孟嘗君(Lord 孟嘗), this was the secret to his ability to turn danger into safety and live a long life.

狡兔三窟

狡 = 狡猾 crafty
兔  rabbit
三  three
窟 cave or burrow

During the 春秋戰國時代(Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods), making friends was a popular practice, especially if you were a nobleman, an officeholder, or a powerful landlord. You would host people with special skills in your home long-term, providing them with food and lodging. In return, they would offer assistance when you needed it. These individuals were known as "門客" or "食客".

Lord 孟嘗, the Prime Minister of 齊, was renowned for his ability to make friends; he always had a thousand people staying at his home. He believed that in a chaotic world, cultivating these relationships would ensure he received help when he needed it.

Among Lord 孟嘗's many 食客 was a man named 馮諼. He dressed shabbily and appeared to be worthless. The chamberlains assigned him a small room and served him coarse food. 

One day, 馮諼 began singing to his sword, "My sword, my sword, let us go home! There's no fish or meat in our meal." A chamberlain reported this to Lord 孟嘗, who found it amusing. He ordered 馮諼 to be moved to a better room and given finer food. This time, 馮諼 sang a different tune: "My sword, my sword, let us go home! We don't have a carriage." Everyone thought 馮諼 was being excessive, but Lord 孟嘗 still commanded the chamberlain to provide him with a carriage. Again, 馮諼 sang another song: "My sword, my sword, let us go home! I have no money to support my family." All the other 食客 considered 馮諼 greedy. To their surprise, Lord 孟嘗 ordered the chamberlain to give him money for his family's upkeep.

Powerful figures like Lord 孟嘗 were often viewed with suspicion by the King. One day, the King issued an order, demanding Lord 孟嘗 undertake numerous tasks without compensation.

Lord 孟嘗 needed more money to fulfill the King's demands. He needed someone to collect debts for him in 薛 City, which is his territory. No one volunteered except 馮諼, who offered his services. 馮諼 asked Lord 孟嘗, "Do you need me to buy anything for you?" Lord 孟嘗 pondered for a moment and replied, "Buy whatever you think I need."

馮諼 traveled to 薛 City. He gathered the poor people who couldn't repay their debts and announced, "Lord 孟嘗 says the poor need more help. You don't need to repay your debts. Everyone, let's thank Lord 孟嘗!" Then, he returned.

Lord 孟嘗 asked 馮諼 what he had bought. He replied, "I brought you benevolence and righteousness." Lord 孟嘗 finally realized that 馮諼 hadn't collected any money. He was furious but didn't say a word. 馮諼 continued to stay by his side.

A year later, the King ordered Lord 孟嘗 to leave his position. Lord 孟嘗 returned to 薛 City. His thousand "friends" all abandoned him, but 馮諼 followed him to 薛 City. Lord 孟嘗 asked 馮諼, "Why do you stay with me? The King might kill me in the future. I don't think staying with me is a good choice."

"You are a great man, and I will help you become great again. 薛 City is just the beginning," 馮諼 responded.

Lord 孟嘗 was welcomed by the people of 薛 City; their warmth made him finally understand the true meaning of benevolence and righteousness. He thanked 馮諼 profusely. 馮諼 said, "I will give you more. A crafty rabbit won't rest until it has three burrows in which to hide comfortably. This is just the first. I have already connected with the King of 梁. It won't be long before they send people to visit us."

Upon hearing of the importance that 梁 placed on Lord 孟嘗, the King of 齊 quickly sent someone to invite Lord 孟嘗 back as Prime Minister. 馮諼 then advised Lord 孟嘗 to ask the King of 齊 to establish the royal ancestral shrine of 齊 in 薛 City, which would ensure 薛's safety.

At this point, all three preparations for avoiding disaster were complete. Lord 孟嘗 successfully served as Prime Minister of 齊 for several more decades until his death.

Lord 孟嘗 was once imprisoned by the King of 秦, who intended to kill him. He was able to escape thanks to the skills of his 門客, specifically those with the ability to imitate the crowing of a rooster and the barking of a dog. The story goes like this:

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The Other Idiom related to Lord 孟嘗: 雞鳴狗盜

雞 chicken

鳴 crowing

狗 dog

盜 stealing

Once, Lord 孟嘗 went on an envoy mission to 秦. The King of 秦, having long heard of Lord 孟嘗's reputation, wanted to appoint him as his prime minister. However, the ministers strongly opposed this, believing that as a nobleman from 齊, Lord 孟嘗 would undoubtedly prioritize 齊's interests over 秦's. The King of 秦 then abandoned the idea of making Lord 孟嘗 prime minister and instead imprisoned him, preparing to execute him.

Seeing his life in peril, Lord 孟嘗 became extremely anxious. He sent someone to visit the king of 秦's favorite concubine, hoping she could intercede with the king on his behalf.  The concubine agreed but demanded a precious white fox fur robe as a condition because she knew that Lord 孟嘗 had given one to the King of 秦. 

However, there is only one of these precious white fox fur robes, and there is no way to make another one in a short time. Just as Lord 孟嘗 was at a loss, one of his 門客 volunteered to sneak into the 秦 palace and steal the white fox fur robe. 

This 門客, under the cover of darkness, pretended to bark like a dog to distract the guards, crawled through a dog hole into the palace, and successfully stole the robe. Upon receiving the robe, the concubine spoke favorably of Lord 孟嘗 to the King of 秦, persuading him to allow Lord 孟嘗 to return to 齊.

Fearing the King of 秦 might change his mind, Lord 孟嘗 and his 門客 traveled back to 齊 overnight. When they reached 函谷關(Hangu Pass, a key thoroughfare connecting different regions), they discovered that the gate would not open until dawn, when the chickens crowed. Just as Lord 孟嘗 worried that the King of 秦 might go back on his word, another 門客, skilled at imitating chicken calls, let out several realistic crows, prompting the nearby chickens to start crowing as well. The guards at the pass, hearing the chicken calls, thought it was daylight and opened the gate, allowing Lord 孟嘗 and his group to leave. By the time the King of 秦 regretted his decision and sent pursuers, Lord 孟嘗 and his group had long since left 秦 and could no longer be caught.

Later, this story was condensed into the idiom "雞鳴狗盜", which is used to describe someone with a humble or petty skill, or to refer to such skills themselves. It can also be used to describe despicable or lowly people or matters.

 How To Use

狡兔三窟

在搜捕的過程中，警方發現狡兔三窟，這些詐欺犯竟有多個藏匿地點。
During the search, the police discovered that these fraudsters, like crafty rabbits, had not just one but multiple hiding places.

雞鳴狗盜

就算是雞鳴狗盜之技，也有派上用場的一天。

Every skill, no matter how minor, can be useful when the time is right.