Ban Chao, styled Zhongsheng, was born in Pingling, Fufeng Commandery (present-day Xianyang, Shaanxi) during the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 73 AD, Ban Chao was appointed as Acting Major by General Dou Gu, who commanded the northern expedition against the Xiongnu. After a decisive victory, Dou Gu, impressed by Ban Chao's abilities, sent him with a 36-member delegation to establish diplomatic ties with the Western Regions.
The delegation first arrived at the Shanshan Kingdom
Ban Chao learned from the Hu attendants that the northern Xiongnu had also sent envoys, pressuring the King of Shanshan. This left the king wavering, unsure which side to favor.
Ban Chao saw the urgency and quickly gathered his 36 soldiers to discuss a plan. He said, "The Xiongnu envoy has only been here a few days, yet the king has already grown cold toward us. If he succumbs to Xiongnu pressure and hands us over, we'll likely die without a burial place. What do you think we should do?"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately declared, "The situation is urgent—life or death is in your hands, sir!"
Ban Chao stood up excitedly and declared decisively, "Excellent! If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch its cubs—without risking your life, you cannot achieve success. Our only option tonight is to launch a fire attack on the Xiongnu camp. While they're disoriented, we'll wipe them out. This will shock the King of Shanshan, and we'll secure our diplomatic advantage."
At nightfall, Ban Chao led his troops in silently surrounding the Xiongnu camp, setting their dwellings ablaze and burning over a hundred Xiongnu to death. Then, fighting with desperate courage, they killed more than thirty Xiongnu envoys and attendants who managed to break through the flames.
The next morning, Ban Chao brought the severed head of the Xiongnu envoy before the King of Shanshan. Stunned into silence, the king immediately pledged eternal friendship with the Han Dynasty. Ban Chao had brilliantly fulfilled his mission to the Western Regions and returned in triumph.
Later, the idiom "No tiger's den, no tiger cubs" came to be used to describe that without taking risks or enduring hardships, one cannot achieve great success.
Source: *Book of the Later Han*, "Biography of Ban Chao"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "不入虎穴，焉得虎子" came to describe without taking risks or enduring hardships, one cannot achieve great success.