During the late Spring and Autumn period, the states of Wu and Yue fought for supremacy. Yue was defeated by Wu and forced to sue for peace. King Goujian of Yue endured hardships, sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, while appointing ministers Wen Zhong and Fan Li to rebuild the state. After ten years of gathering strength and ten years of training, Yue turned from weakness to strength, eventually defeating Wu and avenging its national shame. King Fuchai of Wu fled in defeat and sent seven consecutive peace offers to Yue, but Wen Zhong and Fan Li refused them all. In desperation, Fuchai tied a letter to an arrow and shot it into Fan Li's camp. The letter read:
"When the rabbits are all caught, the hunting dogs are no longer useful and are killed for meat; when the enemy state is destroyed, the strategists who devised the plans for victory are no longer needed and are cast aside or eliminated. Why don't you two ministers let the State of Wu survive, to leave yourselves some room for retreat?"
But Wen Zhong and Fan Li still refused to negotiate peace, leaving Fuchai with no choice but to draw his sword and take his own life.
After King Goujian of Yue destroyed the state of Wu, he held a celebratory banquet for his ministers in the Wu palace, only to find that Fan Li had vanished. The next day, Fan Li's coat was found by Lake Tai, and everyone assumed he had drowned himself. But soon after, someone delivered a letter to Wen Zhong, which read:
"Once the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the hares are caught, the hounds are cooked and eaten; when the enemy state is destroyed, the advisors are cast aside or killed. The King of Yue can be shared with in hardship but not in pleasure. If you, Grand Master, do not leave now, you will soon face disaster."
Wen Zhong finally realized that Fan Li had not died but was living in seclusion. Though he did not fully believe the letter's warnings, he began to feign illness and avoid court, which over time aroused King Gou Jian's suspicion. One day, Gou Jian visited Wen Zhong at home and, as he left, left behind his sword. Wen Zhong saw the characters "Zhu Lou" engraved on the scabbard—it was the very sword that King Fu Chai of Wu had once forced the loyal minister Wu Zixu to use for suicide. Understanding Gou Jian's intent, Wen Zhong bitterly regretted not heeding Fan Li's advice and could only draw the blade to end his own life.
Later, the idiom "birds gone, bow hidden" came to describe how meritorious officials are discarded or harmed after their service is no longer needed.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Hereditary House of Yue"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "鸟尽弓藏" came to describe how meritorious officials are discarded or harmed after their service is no longer needed.