Ziwen, the prime minister of the State of Chu, was known for his fairness and incorruptible enforcement of the law, earning deep respect from both officials and commoners alike.
Ziwen's younger brother Ziliang served as a military commander in Chu. His son, Yuejiao, was born. On the day of Yuejiao's one-month celebration, the commander's residence was filled with guests and joy. Ziwen, also invited, was shocked upon seeing his nephew Yuejiao. He quickly found Ziliang and told him:
“This child Yuejiao must not be kept. His cries sound like a wolf’s howl; when he grows up, he will surely be our disaster. As the saying goes: ‘A wolf cub, though small, has a fierce nature.’ He is a wolf—you must not treat him kindly. Make up your mind and kill him.”
Ziliang, upon hearing these words, was so terrified that his soul seemed to flee. After a long pause, he stammered, "I am... his biological father. How could I bear to personally kill... kill him?"
Ziwen repeatedly tried to persuade Ziliang, but Ziliang refused to listen.
Ziwen was deeply worried about this matter. On his deathbed, he summoned his trusted followers and warned them, "Never let Yuejiao come to power. Once he gains influence, you must flee for your lives immediately, or the consequences will be unimaginable."
After Ziwen's death, his son Dou Ban became the prime minister, while Yue Jiao succeeded his father as the minister of war. In 626 BCE, Yue Jiao, scheming to seize the top post, flattered King Mu of Chu relentlessly and slandered Dou Ban at every turn. The king, swayed by these lies, appointed Yue Jiao as prime minister. Later, after King Mu's death, Yue Jiao launched a rebellion, and once in power, he murdered Dou Ban along with all of Ziwen's former loyalists.
Yue Jiao's "wolf cub ambition" developed to such an extent, it was caused by his nature and an inevitable outcome. The idiom "wolf cub ambition" originally referred to the unchangeable nature of the cruel. Later, it was used to describe the malicious intentions of evil people.
Source: *Zuo Zhuan*, Chapter "Duke Xuan, Year 4"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "狼子野心" came to describe how the malicious intentions of evil people are unchangeable.