Which bird is
"One Cry
Stuns All"?
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The full narration of the video.
In the saying 'one cry that stuns everyone', what kind of bird is it? Many of us memorized this idiom as kids in Chinese class. But open the original text from over two thousand years ago, and it never names the bird.
Because this bird never sat in a tree. It sat inside a riddle. The story begins in the state of Chu, more than 2,600 years ago. King Zhuang of Chu took the throne, and for three years issued not a single order, just feasting and music every day.
He even warned: anyone who dares to advise me will die. His ministers were desperate, but nobody dared say it outright. One minister had an idea: don't advise him, give him a riddle.
He said: on a hill to the south sits a bird. For three years it hasn't flown or sung. What bird is it? Take a guess. What bird did he mean? The king got it at once: the bird that hadn't flown or sung for three years was him.
He answered: it doesn't fly because it's growing its wings. It doesn't sing because it's watching the people around it. When it flies, it will soar to the sky. When it sings, it will startle everyone. It's a bit like a new homeroom teacher who doesn't scold anyone the first month, just learns who's naughty and who works hard.
The teacher watches for a month. King Zhuang watched for three years. Then he took charge himself, removed officials who did nothing, and promoted people who could get things done. Later Chu defeated the great northern state of Jin, and King Zhuang became the loudest voice among the lords.
Ancient people called this roundabout talk 'yinyu': a hidden saying. Two hundred years later, King Wei of Qi also drank all night and ignored the state. A man named Chunyu Kun brought out a big bird and told almost the same riddle.
This time the king answered: silent until it sings, then it stuns everyone. That's where the idiom comes from. He summoned seventy-two county chiefs, rewarded one, punished one, and sent out his army; the other states hurried to hand back the land they had taken. So the bird has no name. It's the riddle; the answer is the king.
Hidden sayings slowly turned into riddles, and once written on lanterns, they became the Lantern Festival riddles. Where else have you seen someone say it with a riddle instead?
It never sat
in a tree
Chinese kids memorize the idiom yi ming jing ren, "one cry stuns all", in school. Nobody tells them which bird it is.
Open the original texts from over two thousand years ago: they only say "a bird" or "a big bird". They never name it.
Because the bird
was made up for a riddle.
The king who gave
no orders for 3 years
Over 2,600 years ago, King Zhuang took the throne of Chu, a state in ancient China. For three years he gave not a single order. He feasted and listened to music, and he warned: anyone who dares to advise me will die.
One minister stopped advising. He gave the king a riddle instead:
The king got it at once: the bird was him. He answered:
When it sings, it will stun everyone.
Then he took charge. He removed officials who did nothing and promoted people who got things done. Chu defeated Jin, the great state to the north, and King Zhuang became the loudest voice among the lords.
Like a new
homeroom teacher
The riddle is a bird,
the answer is the king
Ancient Chinese called this roundabout talk yinyu, a "hidden saying". Saying it straight could cost your head. Wrapped in a riddle, the king worked it out himself, and listened.
So the bird has no name.
It's the riddle; the answer is the king.
Two centuries later,
another big bird
King Wei of Qi also drank all night and ignored the state. A man named Chunyu Kun brought out a big bird and told almost the same riddle.
If it doesn't sing, so be it; one cry stuns all.
He summoned 72 county chiefs, rewarded one, punished one, and sent out his army. The other states hurried to hand back the Qi land they had taken.
The same bird flies twice in the history books. School stories often differ from the records; the straw boats and arrows is another one.
Later it hung
on lanterns
Hidden sayings slowly became riddles. Written on lanterns, they became the riddles of the Lantern Festival, which closes Chinese New Year.
The lantern riddles kids guess today are family of this bird.
has no name.
It's a king
in a riddle.
Quick check
In the idiom "one cry stuns all", what bird was it originally?
A minister afraid to speak plainly made up a bird that hadn't flown or sung for three years; the answer to the riddle was the king himself.
