overconfidence

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 23.14

    Han Feizi tells an elder chides a conceited Chu prince bent on attacking Chen. Citing Goujian’s decade-long grueling preparation to revive Yue, the elder mocks his blind overconfidence; great conquests demand persistent hard work instead of rash optimism.

  • The Chu hunter’s bamboo flute

    The deer is afraid of the wolf; the wolf of the tiger; and the tiger of the wild bear, the most ferocious and powerful of all animals, walking erect, with long hair hanging from its head.