驚jīng弓gōng之zhī鳥niǎo

What does 驚弓之鳥 (jīng gōng zhī niǎo) mean?

驚弓之鳥 (jīng gōng zhī niǎo) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "a bird startled by the bow." In use it means: Someone who has been hurt before flinches at the mere sound of danger, even when none is present. Past trauma makes the body remember what the mind tries to forget. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rooster.

Literally: "a bird startled by the bow."

The reading

The bird that was shot once does not need to see the arrow. The sound of the string is enough. The body learned the lesson faster than the mind, and the body does not forget. This is not weakness. It is survival hardware running on old data. The work is teaching the bird that this string belongs to a different bow.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typechéngyǔ 成語
• FocusLooks back
• Element金 Metal
• Zodiac tie雞 Year of the Rooster

Source Zhanguo Ce 戰國策, Chu ce 楚策; also attributed to Geng Lei 更羸

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.