On a busy autumn night, a farmer, exhausted from a day's labor, was suddenly awakened by a series of "cluck... cluck... cluck" sounds. "Where's that strange noise coming from?" "Isn't it just those damned cranes the ruler recently released nearby?"
During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Yigong of Wei had an obsessive love for raising cranes. His crane garden grew larger and larger, eventually encroaching upon farmland.
Duke Yi of Wei classified his cranes by color, appearance, and size, assigning special officials to care for them with strict standards: fresh, high-quality feed, ponds stocked with willow-leaf fish, and gardens filled with gray grasshoppers—the cranes' favorite treats. Each day, the officials groomed the cranes on schedule, ensuring every feather was spotless and every crown a vivid red.
Hearing that Duke Yi of Wei was fond of cranes, the distant northern state of Yan specially sent him several dozen rare grey cranes.
Duke Yi of Wei planned a grand tour of his state and issued a decree: "Cranes are the most beautiful birds, and the gray crane is especially precious. Prepare several large carriages with ornate canopies, harness the finest horses, and let the gray cranes ride in the carriages to accompany me on the tour. This will display the wealth of Wei and let neighboring states know the majesty of our nation—so much so that even the rarest gray cranes are presented as gifts!"
A grand procession moved forward, and inside the luxurious carriage, a gray crane craned its neck and flapped its wings with elegant ease.
Farmers in tattered clothes by the roadside watched the procession pass and shook their heads with sighs.
While Duke Yi of Wei was out flaunting his wealth and boasting of his riches, the neighboring Di tribes launched a full-scale invasion of the Wei state!
Duke Yi of Wei knew the intruders meant trouble and ordered all adult men in the state to don armor and take up arms, striking the invaders hard to display Wei's national might.
“Aren't cranes supposed to display national prestige? Let them don armor and go to battle. We can't even fill our stomachs—how can we fight with all our might!” People dared not say it to their faces, but behind their backs, they all complained.
Duke Yi of Wei personally led his army to face the Di barbarians, and though the duke fought bravely on the battlefield, his soldiers had no heart for battle, ultimately suffering a crushing defeat along the banks of the Yellow River.
Duke Yi of Wei died on the battlefield, and the state of Wei was destroyed by the Di tribes. His fate—doting on pets while neglecting his people—left a profound lesson for future generations.
Later, people used the idiom "Loving Cranes, Losing the Crowd" to describe focusing on small things at the expense of greater ones.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, Chapter "Duke Min, Year Two"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "爱鹤失众" came to describe focusing on small things at the expense of greater ones.