During the Warring States period, a famine struck the state of Qi, leaving many dead from starvation. When Mencius' disciple Chen Zhen heard the news, he rushed to see his teacher and asked, "Master, have you heard about the famine in Qi? Many commoners are dying, yet I've heard the granaries there are still well-stocked. Could you go to Qi and persuade King Xuan to open the granaries and relieve the suffering?"
Mencius sighed and said, "Alas! How could I not want to think of the people of Qi? But the King of Qi will not listen to my advice. If I go to persuade him again, others will call me Feng Fu. Have you heard the story of Feng Fu?"
During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Jin had a tiger-hunting master named Feng Fu, who had killed countless tigers. One day, he suddenly declared, "I vow to become a virtuous man who takes no life," and from that day forward, he never hunted again.
Years later, a fierce tiger appeared in the mountains, attacking many travelers. Several young hunters banded together to hunt it. One day, they cornered the beast against a rocky cliff, but the tiger fought back fiercely, its terrifying roar freezing the hunters in their tracks. None dared to step forward and engage.
Just then, Feng Fu happened to be passing by in his chariot
The hunters present were deeply grateful to Feng Fu. However, when some scholars of the time heard this news, they mocked Feng Fu for breaking his word.
After finishing this story, Mencius said, "I once declared I would no longer meddle in the affairs of Qi. If I went back to advise the King of Qi now, wouldn't I be like Feng Fu—mocked by others for breaking my word?" Chen Zhen listened and fell silent. Later, the idiom "Fighting from a Corner" came to describe someone relying on a favorable position to put up a stubborn resistance.
Source: *Mencius*, Chapter "Jin Xin"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "负隅顽抗" came to describe how someone relying on a favorable position to put up a stubborn resistance.