The Cicada, Mantis, Oriole and Young Prince

螳螂捕蝉 (tang2 lang2 bu3 chan2) is a famous Chinese idiom. It comes from a story about a cicada, a praying mantis, an oriole and a young prince. It dates back to the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

After defeating the State of Yue, the king of the State of Wu became arrogant about his victory. He indulged himself and was unaware that the king of the State of Yue was imposing many hardships on his people in order to rebuild his army and extract revenge for his humiliating defeat. When one of the officials of the State of Wu warned his king, the king turned a deaf ear to the advice. The official persisted with his warning. But the king became fed up with his official and ordered the official to commit suicide.

Meanwhile, the people of the State of Yue continued to ready themselves for an assault on the State of Wu. Crown Prince You of the State of Wu became increasingly concerned with this turn of events. He devised a ploy to convince his king that he must prepare for the impending attack. One day the Crown Prince, with a slingshot in his hand and looking like a drowned rat, went to see the king. When the king asked what had happened, the Crown Prince told  the following story:

When I went into the garden this morning, I saw a cicada chirping in a tree. It was blissfully unaware of the praying mantis that was sneaking up from behind. As the mantis was about to strike, it had failed to notice the oriole lurking nearby waiting for a quick meal. I thought the bird had not noticed that I was standing under the tree with a slingshot in my hand. However, as I stepped backward to get a better shot at the oriole, I fell into the pond behind me which I had failed to see.

The king burst into laughter and said:

You are very stupid. You cared too much about the gains ahead without being aware of the danger behind.

The Crown Prince agreed, but also added that others could learn from his experience too. He explained to the king how the State of Wu had become complacent after its victory over the State of Yue and, as a result, the State of Wu was completely unprepared should the State of Yue decide to retaliate. The king became angry and reminded the Crown Prince of what had happened to others that persisted with such an argument.

Needless to say, a few years later the State of Yue mounted an offensive against the State of Wu. The State of Wu was caught napping. The whole kingdom was seized and the king was killed.

This story offers a salutary reminder that one who is eager to enjoy the gains ahead should always be mindful of the possibility of unseen dangers lurking nearby. I have not been able to think of an equivalent English idiom. But, it does seem similar to the idea that if something is too good to be true, it probably isn't.