南辕北辙 — “South chariot, north wheels / Drive south, go north”

During the late Warring States period, the state of Wei, once a dominant power, found its strength gradually declining. Despite this, its ruler, King Anli of Wei, planned to attack the state of Zhao. Ji Liang, a strategist, who was already on a diplomatic mission to a neighboring state, immediately turned back upon hearing this news. He rushed back, covered in dust, to seek an audience with King Anli, hoping to dissuade him from attacking Zhao.

Ji Liang said to King Anli, “Today, on the Taihang Road, I met a man driving his chariot northward, but he told me he was going to the State of Chu. Chu is in the south, so I asked him why he was heading north if he wanted to go south. The man replied, 'No worries, my horse is excellent and runs fast.' I reminded him that even a good horse is useless if he's heading north, which is not the way to Chu. The man pointed to a large bag in his chariot and said, 'No worries, I have plenty of travel expenses.' I pointed out again that even a lot of travel expenses wouldn't help; he wouldn't reach Chu this way. Still, the man insisted, 'No worries, my charioteer is the most skilled.' This man was utterly confused. His direction was wrong; even if his horse was exceptionally fast, he had abundant travel expenses, and his charioteer was exceptionally skilled, the better these conditions were, the further he would get from his destination.”

At this point, Ji Liang brought the conversation back to the main topic: “Now, Your Majesty, if you wish to achieve hegemony and win the trust of the world with every action, only then can you establish authority and gain popular support. However, if you rely on your state's size and military strength to constantly attack others, you will not build credibility. Instead, it will be precisely like that man who wanted to go south but headed north, only getting further and further away from the goal of achieving hegemony!”

After hearing these words, King Anli deeply felt that Ji Liang had illuminated an important principle for him, and he resolved to stop the attack on Zhao.

This historical event gave rise to the idiom “Beiyuan Shichu” (heading north to Chu). Later, as it spread, people habitually referred to it as “Nanyuan Beizhe” (south chariot, north tracks), and another idiom, “Beidaoerchi” (run in the opposite direction), was derived, sharing the same meaning as “Nanyuan Beizhe”.