In the final years of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou ruled with brutal tyranny
After Ji Chang's death, his son Ji Fa carried on his father's mission and launched a major campaign against the Shang Dynasty in 1051 BCE. When King Zhou of Shang learned of this, he urgently ordered the release of a large number of convicts and slaves from hard labor, hastily forming a 700,000-strong army to confront the Zhou forces. However, these prisoners and slaves, who had long suffered under cruel treatment, turned their weapons against the Shang army. Thus, the Shang Dynasty fell.
After King Ji Fa overthrew the Shang dynasty, he established a new regime—the Zhou, and was historically known as King Wu of Zhou. King Wu distributed the conquered lands to meritorious ministers and feudal lords, and dispatched many envoys to remote regions to proclaim his civil virtues and military achievements, calling upon distant states to submit to his rule.
Impressed by King Wu's formidable reputation, many distant states and tribes sent envoys to Haojing, offering their allegiance and presenting precious gifts.
One day, a distant western kingdom presented King Wu of Zhou with a giant hound named Ao, four feet tall with sharp ears and bright, darting eyes. The envoy led it into the hall, where it knelt before the king as if understanding courtly manners. Delighted, King Wu accepted the gift and rewarded the envoy generously.
Grand Protector Duke of Shao observed this and wrote a piece titled "The Traveling Mastiff" to King Wu after court. It said: "Insulting and trifling with others will cause you to lose your noble virtue; indulging in trivial amusements will cause you to lose your ambition (playthings sap the will). The founding of a state is difficult—never let it be destroyed in an instant!"
After reading the tribute list, King Wu reflected on how King Zhou's excessive debauchery had led to the fall of the Shang Dynasty. He found Duke Shao's words wise and ordered the tribute distributed among his loyal ministers.
Later, people used the idiom "Excessive Pleasure Saps Ambition" to describe being obsessed with trivial amusements, causing one to lose their drive for progress.
Source: *Book of Documents*, Chapter "Lü Ao"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "玩物丧志" came to describe being obsessed with trivial amusements, causing one to lose their drive for progress.