Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals: #14 Waiting for Hares by the Tree(守株待兔)
Betting on some random stroke of luck
This article is one of the “Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals” series.
Story
written by Han Fei, a famous philosopher, ~300BC.
One day, a farmer is working in the fields when he saw a hare running past him, dashing itself into a tree stump. The hare broke its neck and died.
Without any effort, the farmer happily enjoyed a meal of rabbit meat. He was very pleased and thought how nice it would be if every day were like this.
Thereupon, he no longer cultivated his land, but watched by that tree and waited for the chance to pick up another hare which knocked itself dead against the tree stump.
Several days passed, and no hare appeared. Meanwhile, the field had quickly become overgrown, and the farmer became a laughing stock all across the state.
Meaning
This idiom mocks people who merely wait for some random stroke of luck instead of making an earnest effort to pursue opportunities or what they need.
this is the first Chinese idiom my daughter liked, when she was 5 years old.
