Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was a remarkably outstanding ruler and the second son of the dynasty's founder, Li Yuan.
During the final years of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang's tyranny sparked peasant uprisings across the land. Seizing the moment, Li Shimin urged his father to raise an army against the Sui. After years of relentless warfare, they overthrew the dynasty and established the Tang Empire.
After the Tang Dynasty was established, Li Yuan ruled for nine years. Following the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Yuan abdicated in favor of Li Shimin. A capable ruler, Li Shimin ushered in the Zhenguan era of prosperity, leaving a brilliant mark on history.
Li Shimin, mindful of the lessons from the Sui Dynasty's fall, often discussed governance strategies with his ministers. Once, he asked them, "In your view, is it harder to build a new enterprise or to maintain one?"
Minister Fang Xuanling said, "As the saying goes, 'Starting an enterprise is difficult.' Your Majesty, in the early days of founding the empire, your strength grew from weak to strong, and only after hundreds of battles did you pacify all rivals and unify the realm. This shows the hardship of founding an enterprise."
Another minister, Wei Zheng, disagreed with Fang Xuanling's opinion, saying, "I believe that while founding an empire is difficult, preserving it is even harder. Both Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wen of Sui founded their empires with great difficulty and unified the realm, yet they succeeded in founding but failed to preserve. Therefore, I believe preserving is harder."
Emperor Taizong of Tang listened and replied, "Both of you make valid points. My dear minister Fang, you helped me pacify the realm through hundreds of battles, risking life and limb, so you deeply understand the hardships of founding an empire. Now that the land is unified, my dear minister Wei, you assist me in stabilizing the nation. I also know that when people become wealthy and honored, they grow arrogant and lazy—if we are not vigilant, it will lead to ruin. Founding an empire is difficult, but preserving it is no easier. Now that the founding is complete, we must focus on guarding what we have built."
Later, the idiom "the hardships of starting a business" came to describe the difficulties and challenges of entrepreneurship.
Source: *New Book of Tang*, "Biography of Fang Xuanling"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "创业维艰" came to describe the difficulties and challenges of entrepreneurship.