百步穿杨 — “To shoot a willow leaf at a hundred paces”

During the Warring States period, Qin's famous general Bai Qi was leading an army to attack the State of Wei. Su Li, a strategist, quickly went to see the King of Zhou, reminding him, "If Wei is occupied by Qin, your position will be perilous." At that time, the King of Zhou was nominally the Son of Heaven but held no actual jurisdiction over the various vassal states. If Wei were annihilated by Qin, Qin's power would become even stronger, posing a greater threat to the King of Zhou. The King of Zhou asked Su Li what to do, and Su Li suggested that the King quickly send someone to persuade Bai Qi to stop the attack, and tell Bai Qi a story.

Su Li then introduced the story that should be told to Bai Qi:In the State of Chu, there was a renowned archer named Yang Youji. He was exceptionally strong and had developed great archery skills from a young age. At that time, there was also another brave warrior named Pan Hu who was skilled in archery. One day, the two were competing in an archery contest, with many people gathered to watch.

The target was set fifty paces away, a board with a red bullseye. Pan Hu drew his strong bow and hit the bullseye with three consecutive arrows, earning a round of applause from the onlookers. Pan Hu smugly bowed to Yang Youji, inviting him to demonstrate his skills.

Yang Youji looked around and said, "Shooting a red bullseye fifty paces away is too close and too large a target; let's shoot a willow leaf at a hundred paces instead!" With that, he pointed to a willow tree a hundred paces away and asked someone to select a leaf on the tree and paint it red as a target. Then, he drew his bow, and with a "swoosh," the arrow shot forth, piercing the very center of the willow leaf.

Everyone present was astonished. Pan Hu knew he didn't possess such high skill but also doubted that Yang Youji could hit a willow leaf with every shot. So, he walked to the willow tree, selected three leaves, numbered them with paint, and asked Yang Youji to shoot them in numerical order.Yang Youji stepped forward a few paces, clearly saw the numbers, then retreated a hundred paces. He drew his bow, and with "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh," three arrows struck the three numbered willow leaves respectively. At this, thunderous applause erupted, and Pan Hu was utterly convinced.

Amidst the applause, someone standing beside Yang Youji coldly remarked, "Hey, only after acquiring the skill of 'shooting a willow leaf at a hundred paces' can one be taught archery!" Yang Youji, sensing the man's arrogant tone, turned around angrily and asked, "How do you intend to teach me archery?" The man calmly replied, "I'm not here to teach you how to draw a bow and shoot arrows, but to remind you how to maintain your reputation as an archer. Have you considered that once your strength is exhausted, just one missed arrow could affect your reputation for hitting every target? A truly skilled archer should pay attention to preserving their name!"

Yang Youji found these words very reasonable and thanked him repeatedly.

The person sent by the King of Zhou recounted this story to Bai Qi exactly as Su Li had described. Upon hearing it, Bai Qi, thinking about preserving his reputation for winning every battle, decided not to engage lightly. He feigned illness and halted his attack on Wei. This story also gave rise to another idiom, '百发百中' (bǎi fā bǎi zhòng), meaning 'to hit the target every time'.