During the Spring and Autumn period, Chu State had a master archer named Yang Youji, who learned archery in his youth and honed his skill until his fame spread far and wide. One day, a man challenged him, saying, "Can you hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces?" Yang Youji calmly replied, "Watch me," and with a single arrow, he struck the leaf dead center. The crowd gasped in awe, but another observer remarked, "Your skill is impressive, but it's not enough to make you a true master." Yang Youji asked, "Why do you say that?" The man answered, "A true master knows when to stop, lest his skill become a weakness." This story teaches that even the greatest talent must be wielded with wisdom and restraint.
Yang Youji shot arrows with both precision and power. He was known as "piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces" and "a hundred shots, a hundred hits," meaning his accuracy was extremely high. Even more remarkable was his extraordinary arm strength—when hitting a target, his arrows had tremendous penetrating force.
In the fifty-sixth year of King Gong of Chu, on the eve of the Battle of Ling, the legendary archer Yang Youji and another skilled marksman, Pan Dang, held a contest. Their target was a wooden mannequin clad in armor, set fifty paces away. Yang Youji drew his bow and let fly an arrow that pierced through seven layers of armor, while Pan Dang's arrow only penetrated two. Pan Dang sighed in admiration and conceded, "I am no match for you." From that day, Yang Youji was hailed as the mightiest archer of the age, unrivaled under heaven.
In the vast Yunmeng Marsh of the Chu Kingdom, countless wild beasts roamed—rhinoceroses, buffalo-like si, and elk were everywhere. One particular si had hide so thick and tough that the people of Chu used it to craft armor, protecting warriors from arrows and blades. Though the si was massive and slow, making it an easy target, piercing its hide required immense strength.
Yunmeng was a favorite hunting ground for Yang Youji, where he could both test his archery skills and bag game in one trip, always returning with a cartload of beasts both big and small.
On a cold, overcast day with no sun in sight, the legendary archer Yang Youji led twenty to thirty soldiers into the Yunmeng Marsh to hunt. In the distance, they spotted a rhinoceros crouching motionless on the ground. The soldiers eagerly grabbed their arrows, each itching to take a shot. An older soldier cautioned, "Get closer before you shoot!" Another added, "Better let Master Yang Youji handle it—your arm strength might not be enough."
Then everyone stopped. Yang Youji was slowly approaching. Hearing the soldiers' call, he perked up. About thirty or forty paces from the rhinoceros, he halted, glanced at the massive creature, steadied himself, gathered his strength, and drew his bow fully. With a "swish," one arrow struck the rhinoceros.
Strangely, the rhinoceros remained utterly still, with no arrow feather visible. As the crowd drew closer, they realized it was no beast at all—it was a massive boulder! The arrow had pierced completely into the stone, burying its feathered tail deep within.
Yang Youji laughed heartily and said, "What a waste of one of my good arrows!"
The soldiers all marveled: Truly divine strength!
"The idiom 'Shooting Stone, Burying Arrow' uses 'arrow' to mean the feathers at the arrow's tail. The arrow pierces the stone, burying its tail feathers, describing immense strength. Later, it also signifies superb martial skill."
Source: *Lüshi Chunqiu*, Chapter "Jing Tong"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "射石饮羽" came to describe how immense strength or superb martial skill can achieve extraordinary feats.