狡兔三窟
- Literal
- a wily hare has three burrows
- Figurative
- To keep several safeguards or escape routes ready in advance so as to be protected whatever happens. Today it praises the foresight of someone who never bets everything on one option, though it can also carry a hint of calculating cunning.
Where does 狡兔三窟 come from?
In the state of Qi, the minister Meng Changjun had in his service a retainer named Feng Xuan. After burning the peasants' debt contracts in the fief of Xue to win their loyalty, Feng Xuan warned his lord: "A wily hare has three burrows, and even so barely escapes death; you have only one, so you cannot yet sleep at ease. Let me dig you two more." Feng Xuan then secured those two further burrows for Meng Changjun: he made the king of Wei eager to recruit him, which alarmed the king of Qi into restoring him with honours, and he had an ancestral temple built at Xue to anchor his standing. Thanks to these three refuges, Meng Changjun governed for decades without misfortune.
Source (出处): 《战国策·齐策四》
How is 狡兔三窟 used? Two examples
- 他在好几个城市都有房子和朋友，真是狡兔三窟。
He has houses and friends in several cities; he's clearly kept more than one escape route open.
- 做生意要狡兔三窟，不能把钱全放在一个地方。
In business you need several fallback plans; you can't put all your money in one place.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
