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The Chinese expression 骑虎难下 (qi2 hu3 nan2 xia4) literally means he who rides the tiger finds it hard to get off. It originated in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420).
When the first emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sima Shao, suddenly died in AD 325, his young son Sima Yan became the ruler. But soon after, one of his generals, Su Jun, decided to rebel against him. In the spring of 328, General Su staged a coup. His rebel forces siezed the capital and put the young emperor and his wife under house arrest.
Upon hearing the news of the fall of the capital, Governor Wen Jiao of Wuchang vowed to put down the rebellion and help reinstate the emperor. He persuaded Tao Kan, the governor of a neighbouring region, to join with him to form an anti-rebel coalition.
The coalition waged war with the rebels for several months. In the early months of the seige to regain the capital, the coalition forces made significant headway. However, the battle eventually developed into a stalemate. As a result, Tao Kan's resolve to continue the war began to waver and he told Wen Jiao that he intended to withdraw his troops.
Wen Jiao was quick to warn him of the disasterous consequences:
Governor Tao, you cannot walk away. We are riding a tiger and it is hard to dismount. If you quit now, all our hard work will be compromised and the anti-rebel front may collapse. Should the emperor one day regain power, everyone in the court will point their finger at you as the villian in the saga that nearly brought everything undone.
This pep-talk convinced the shilly-shallying Tao to re-commit his troops. The two Governers burnt the midnight oil discussing a plan for a new military surge. With this new plan, the coalition forces finally defeated the rebels and the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty continued for another 92 years.
The Chinese use this idiom to describe someone who is in a difficult situation (or involved in an action that is dangerous) but is forced to continue as it is not possible to give up. English speakers would say that a person in such a situation has a tiger by the tail.