The Cheng brothers, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, were both renowned scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty, known as the Two Chengs. Later, their teachings were inherited by the great scholar Zhu Xi, and they became known as the "Cheng-Zhu School."
As a young man, Cheng Hao loved hunting, often riding out with attendants to chase hawks and rabbits, returning with a full load. He believed it was excellent exercise for both body and will.
Later, his interests shifted toward scholarly pursuits. The vast sea of knowledge captivated him, and he devoted himself tirelessly to study, leaving no time or energy for hunting.
Once, a friend mentioned hunting, and Cheng Hao said regretfully, "I used to love hunting, but now I have no interest in it at all."
His friend Zhou Maoshu heard this and said to Cheng Hao, "As I see it, it's not that you've lost interest in hunting now, but rather that you're busy with scholarly research and have buried that interest. Perhaps one day when you have free time, you'll still go hunting with the same joy as when you were young!"
Zhou Maoshu's words proved true. Twelve years later, Cheng Hao returned to his hometown and, seeing the familiar scenery, felt a surge of emotion. The hunting trips of his youth flashed before his eyes. Spotting hunters in the fields, his old itch returned. Back home, he eagerly gathered his servants and went hunting, bagging a good haul.
Later, the idiom "Thrilled at the Sight of Hunting" came to describe old habits dying hard, where a familiar scene stirs emotion and one itches to try again.
Source: *Complete Works of the Cheng Brothers*, Chapter "Posthumous Writings, Part Seven"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "见猎心喜" came to describe old habits dying hard, where a familiar scene stirs emotion and one itches to try again.