This is a Chinese saying: "50 steps laughing at 100 steps." 以五十步笑百步
It's kind of interesting, so here's the gist of the story.
Two armies were fighting in a battle. One army defeated the other, and the soldiers of the defeated retreated. The retreated soldiers who ran away for 50 steps were laughing at the soldiers who retreated 100 steps, telling them they were cowards, because they ran away so fast.
In fact the 50 steps people were no different from the 100 steps people, because essentially they were doing the same thing.
I am afraid this is to close to the " inscrutable east" for me!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's my English. :) When people complains about others while committing the same crime themselves, I thought about this story.
DeleteI love it. Thanks for the explanation!
ReplyDeleteIt's something like Matthew 7:5 (the beam in your eye, the speck in your brother's eye) and yet it is different.