A bird frightened by a bow and arrow. The metaphor is that people who have been frightened will be frightened when they encounter the slightest movement.
Idiom Pronunciation:
惊弓之鸟
jīng gōng zhī niǎo
Origin book:
《战国策·楚策四》：王曰：“先生何以知之？”对曰：“其飞徐而鸣悲。飞徐者，故疮痛也，鸣悲者，久失群也，六故疮未息而惊心未至也，闻弦音，引而高飞，故疮陨也。”
Origin Story:
During the Warring States period of China, there was an archer in the state of Wei named Shanwang. One day, when he was with the king of Wei, he saw a bird flying over his head. More Win said to the king of Wei, “My lord, I can shoot down a bird flying in the sky without an arrow, just by pulling my bow.” “Can you shoot arrows with such skill?” The king of Wei asked. More Feng said, “Yes, I can.” While he was talking, a goose flew from the east. When the goose flew near, he raised his bow, pulled the string without an arrow, and with a “thud”, the flying goose fell down from mid-air.
The king of Wei was amazed at the sight and said, “This is really happening!” So he curiously asked how did the geese fall down without using arrows. More Won explained to the king of Wei, “Actually, it was nothing, I guessed it was a goose that had been wounded by an arrow.” “How do you know that this goose has been wounded by an arrow?” The king of Wei was even more curious. More Feng continued to say to the king of Wei, “This goose flies slowly and cries sadly.” The king of Wei still looked puzzled.
He continued, “It flies slowly because the arrow wound on its body is painful, and it cries sadly because it has been away from its companion for a long time. The wound was painful and had not yet healed, and it was afraid in its heart. When it heard the sound of the bowstring, it was afraid of being hit by the arrow again, so it flew to the high place desperately. As soon as it made an effort, the wound, which had not yet healed, opened up again, and the pain was so unbearable that it could not fly any more and fell from the air.” This is how the idiom “A bird afraid of the bow” came about.
Similar Idioms:
- 谈虎色变
- 心有余悸
