In 584 BC, King Shoumeng of Wu planned to attack Chu. Fearing opposition from his ministers, he decreed, "Whoever dares to dissuade me from attacking Chu will be put to death!"
Some ministers believed that attacking Chu could lead to victory, but leaving the kingdom's defenses weak might invite other states to invade, resulting in heavy losses. Yet King Wu had issued a death decree, and no one dared risk their head to offer counsel.
Among the attendants serving the King of Wu was a young man who also believed that attacking Chu would bring future trouble and that the king should be dissuaded. But lacking even the right to offer counsel, how could he voice his concerns? After much deliberation, he finally found a way.
One morning, he grabbed a slingshot, stuffed his pockets with pellets, and wandered through the palace’s rear garden, casually scanning for birds to shoot, not returning to his duties until the dew had soaked his clothes.
The next morning, he did the same thing again. For three consecutive mornings, the King of Wu finally noticed and called out, "Come here, why do you insist on soaking your clothes like this?" The young man replied, "I was hunting birds." Intrigued, the King of Wu asked, "Did you catch any? Let me see." The young man said uneasily, "No, I didn't. But over these three days, I've witnessed something worth pondering." The King of Wu asked with interest, "What is it? Tell me." The young man explained, "While hunting, I saw a cicada perched high in a tree, chirping mournfully and drinking dew..." The King of Wu interrupted impatiently, "What's so remarkable about that? Cicadas always chirp and drink dew!" "Please let me finish, Your Majesty. The cicada didn't know a mantis was lurking behind it. The mantis, bent and poised to strike, was about to catch the cicada, unaware that an oriole was nearby." "How interesting," the King of Wu interjected. "What was the oriole up to?" The young man continued, "The oriole stretched its neck, ready to devour the mantis, but didn't know my slingshot was aimed at it from below." "Truly, one preys on another!" The young man then said solemnly, "The cicada, mantis, and oriole were all focused on immediate gain, blind to the danger lurking behind them."
Hearing the young man's words, the King of Wu suddenly realized that the youth was advising him not to rashly attack Chu, lest it bring disaster. He exclaimed, "Well said!" and immediately ordered the campaign to halt.
The idiom "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" is derived from this story. It is generally used to describe or warn against shortsightedness, where one seeks immediate gain at others' expense without realizing there are others plotting against them.
Source: *Garden of Stories*, Chapter "Straight Remonstrance"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后" came to describe how one seeks immediate gain at others' expense without realizing there are others plotting against them.