Idiom Explanation:
To run fast without legs describes the circulation of things everywhere without waiting to be implemented.
Pronunciation:
不胫而走
bù jìng ér zǒu
Origin:
汉·孔融《论盛孝章书》：“珠玉无胫而自至者，以人好之也，况贤者之有足乎？”
Story:
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a famous scholar named Sheng Xiaozhang. He was a governor of Wu County, but later resigned due to illness and lived in seclusion. After Sun Ce pacified the Eastern Wu, he hated the famous scholar of the time, and Sheng Xiaozhang went out to avoid trouble. After Sun Ce’s death, Sun Quan continued to persecute him. Kong Rong was a close friend of Sheng Xiaozhang’s, so he wrote a letter to Cao Cao, who was then serving as the Sikong and Chezhi General, asking for help. In his letter to Cao Cao, Kong Rong recounted Sheng Xiaozhang’s plight and cited historical stories of the reuse of talents to impress Cao Cao with his sincerity.
Kong Rong said this in his letter:
Time can’t stay, it fades like running water, and soon you will reach the age of fifty. You have just turned fifty, while I am already more than two years old. Almost all of my old friends in the country are dying out, and only Sheng Xiaozhang of Huiji is still alive. He was persecuted by the Sun regime of the Eastern Wu, his wife and children had all died, leaving him alone and helpless, in a very dangerous situation and in great agony. If sorrow can damage one’s health, I am afraid Xiaozhang would not be able to live a long life.
In the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Rams, it is said, “There were mutual annexations among the lords, and the Duke of Qi Huan did not succor them, but felt himself to be a shame.” Sheng Xiaozhang is indeed a great man among men of the present day, and some of the world’s good talkers and discussants often depend on him to proclaim their fame, and if he himself cannot avoid the fate of being imprisoned and having his life precarious, then Confucius should not have talked about the question of good or bad friends, and it is no wonder that Zhu Mu wrote his Treatise on the Severance of Friendships. If you can send a messenger quickly, and bring a short letter with you, you will be able to recruit Sheng Xiaozhang, and the way of making friends can be carried forward.
Young people nowadays like to speak ill of their predecessors, and perhaps some may make sneering comments about Xiaozhang, but on the whole, Xiaozhang was a man who was admired and praised by all the people of the world. Lord Yan purchased the carcass of a steed, not to have it run on the road, but to recruit a thousand miles of horses through it. I think you are rescuing and restoring the royal family of the Han Dynasty and re-stabilizing the regime that is about to be overthrown. The key to stabilizing the world is to get virtuous talents. The reason why jewels and jades do not have feet but can come to people is because some people like them. The reason why sages have feet but do not come is because the king does not seek sages. King Zhao of Yan built a golden platform to honor Guo Kui, who, though a man of little talent, was treated generously, and was able to spread the sincerity of his master, so that Le Yi went from Wei, Dui Xin went from Zhao, and Zou Yan went from Qi. If King Zhao had not helped Guo Kui when he was in distress, as he did when he was about to be drowned, then all the other wise men would have gone away, and there would have been no one willing to come to Yan in the north. Some of the things mentioned above are familiar to you, but I still want to say them again, just to ask you to pay attention to the way of making friends, and I really can’t express my meaning exhaustively.
Upon receiving the letter, Cao Cao immediately asked Sheng Xiaozhang to serve as a lieutenant, but before the appointment papers arrived, Sheng Xiaozhang had already been killed by Sun Quan.
