Geng Lei, a master archer, stood with the King of Wei on a high terrace. A flock of wild geese flew overhead. Geng Lei said: "Your Majesty, I can bring one down without firing an arrow."
The king was skeptical. Geng Lei drew his bowstring — twang — and released it without an arrow. One goose from the flock tumbled from the sky.
The king was astonished: "How is this possible?"
Geng Lei answered: "That goose was already wounded. It flew slowly — because its old injuries still hurt. It cried out — because it had long been separated from its flock. When it heard the sound of my bowstring, it tried to fly higher to escape — and the strain reopened its old wound. It fell not from my arrow, but from its own past."
异日者，更羸与魏王处京台之下，仰见飞鸟。更羸谓魏王曰：「臣为王引弓虚发而下鸟。」魏王曰：「然则射可至此乎？」更羸曰：「可。」
有间，雁从东方来，更羸以虚发而下之。魏王曰：「然则射可至此乎？」更羸曰：「此孽也。」王曰：「先生何以知之？」更羸曰：「其飞徐而鸣悲。飞徐者，故疮痛也；鸣悲者，久失群也。故疮未息，而惊心未去也。闻弦音，引而高飞，故疮陨也。」
异日者，更羸与魏王处京台之下，仰见飞鸟。更羸谓魏王曰：「臣为王引弓虚发而下鸟。」魏王曰：「然则射可至此乎？」更羸曰：「可。」
有间，雁从东方来，更羸以虚发而下之。魏王曰：「然则射可至此乎？」更羸曰：「此孽也。」王曰：「先生何以知之？」更羸曰：「其飞徐而鸣悲。飞徐者，故疮痛也；鸣悲者，久失群也。故疮未息，而惊心未去也。闻弦音，引而高飞，故疮陨也。」
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
The bird that has been wounded before is the most easily frightened. Past trauma, if unhealed, turns every new sound into an arrow.
This story from the Zhàn Guó Cè is one of the earliest observations of what we now call post-traumatic stress. Geng Lei's insight is not about archery — it is about psychology. The goose was not killed by the bow; it was killed by the memory of the bow.
The idiom "惊弓之鸟" (a bird startled by the bow) describes anyone who overreacts to a situation because of past experience. The story is compassionate: the goose's fear is real and understandable. But it is also cautionary: fear, if not addressed, becomes its own enemy.