During the Spring and Autumn Period, King Zhuang of Chu besieged the state of Song but could not break through. His charioteer suggested building houses and farming on Song's land to show they intended to stay permanently. Song sent their minister Hua Yuan to negotiate: 'We have reached the point of eating our children for fuel and burning bones for fire, yet we will never submit.' The two states eventually signed a treaty with the pledge: 'I will not deceive you, nor will you deceive me' - a promise of mutual honesty. Despite this noble language, the idiom born from it describes exactly the opposite: mutual deception.
春秋时，楚庄王率领军队攻打宋国，因久攻不下，决定撤军。这时，替庄王驾车的申叔时建议说：我们如果在宋国的土地上建房种田，表示要长久地驻扎下去，宋国就会屈服的。宋国得知楚军的动态后，派大臣华元前去告诉楚军主将子反：虽然我们已经到了吃孩子充饥、拿人的骨头当柴烧的地步，但绝不会听命于你们的。最后，两国签订了盟约。盟约中写到：楚军后退三十里，两国和平相处，我无尔诈，尔无我虞（保证两国互不欺骗）。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
When trust breaks down between nations or between people, both sides resort to deception, and everyone loses.
When trust breaks down between nations or between people, both sides resort to deception, and everyone loses.