During the late Warring States period, as Qin grew increasingly powerful and cast a predatory eye on its neighbors, six states—Zhao, Chu, Yan, Qi, Han, and Wei—formed an alliance to resist it. One day, Zhao's envoy Wei Jia met with Lord Chunshen of Chu to discuss who should lead the coalition forces. When Wei Jia learned that Lord Chunshen intended to appoint Linwu Jun as the commander, he simply shook his head and sighed in silence. Sensing his disapproval, Lord Chunshen asked why. Wei Jia thought for a moment and replied, "Let me tell you a story, and you'll understand."
Then he began to speak:
In the state of Wei, there lived a legendary archer named Geng Lei, whose arrows never missed their mark. One day, while strolling with the King of Wei, a flock of wild geese flew overhead. Geng Lei declared, "Your Majesty, I can bring down a bird using only my bow, without an arrow." The king scoffed in disbelief. Geng Lei insisted, "Allow me to demonstrate."
"After a moment, a wild goose flew in from the east. Geng Lei raised his bow, drew the string without an arrow, and with a 'twang' the goose fell from the sky. The King of Wei exclaimed in astonishment, 'I never imagined you possessed such skill.'"
Geng Lei explained, 'This is not because I possess any extraordinary skill, but because this wild goose had been wounded by an arrow before. Did you not notice it flew slowly and cried mournfully? It flew slowly because its wound was painful, and it cried mournfully because it had been separated from its flock for a long time. Still terrified and unsettled, upon hearing the twang of my bowstring, it desperately tried to fly higher—but with that effort, its wound tore open, and so it fell.'
Then, Wei Jia shifted the conversation and said, "General Linwu has just been defeated by the Qin army. Seeing the Qin troops, he will be as fearful as a wounded bird. How can he be appointed as the chief commander again?" After hearing Wei Jia's words, Lord Chunshen nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Whether Lord Chunshen heeded Wei Jia’s advice remains unrecorded in history. What is recorded, however, is that this joint campaign against Qin ended in failure once again. The Chu army, having suffered repeated defeats at the hands of the Qin forces, scattered in panic at the first clash—like a flock of birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
Later, "a bird startled by the bow" is used to describe someone who, having been frightened or struck, becomes panicked and fearful when encountering a similar situation.
Source: *Strategies of the Warring States*, Chapter "Strategies of Chu IV"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "惊弓之鸟" came to describe how someone who, having been frightened or struck, becomes panicked and fearful when encountering a similar situation.