By Peh Shing Huei
China Bureau Chief
shpeh@sph.com.sg

 

IN BEIJING

MRS Hillary Clinton charmed her hosts here when she used Chinese proverbs to describe relations between the United States and China.

But there is a little unfortunate story behind a proverb the US Secretary of State used.

In a speech in New York before her Asia trip, she said: "When you are in a common boat, you need to cross the river peacefully together," to suggest how US and China should work together to overcome the current economic crisis.

Premier Wen Jiabao praised her for the use of the proverb "tong zhou gong ji" during their meeting here on Saturday. He added that the proverb is from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist.

But what Mr Wen did not share with Mrs Clinton is the story behind the proverb.

It came about during the late Spring and Autumn Period (5th century BC), when a turbulent China was divided into various warring states.

Among them were the State of Wu (present-day Jiangsu and Anhui areas) and the State of Yue (present-day Zhejiang Province), which fought a series of wars.

One day, people from Wu and Yue were crossing a river while in the same boat. They regarded each other as enemies and were prepared to fight. But a strong wind came up when the boat was in the middle of the river and threatened to sink it.

The two people decided to put aside their enmity, and cooperated to steer the bat to safety.

It is all well and good and the idiom has since been used to describe people burying their differences during a time of crisis, pulling together to overcome difficulties.

Mrs Clinton most certainly used the proverb correctly.

But the story of the Wu and Yue states after the boat incident is something which Mrs Clinton probably did not know.

The two states went back to fighting and the King of Yue was even captured and became a slave of the State of Wu for three years.

He was allowed to return to his own state eventually, where he built up his forces again and annihilated the State of Wu. The State of Yue became the hegemon in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Some lessons there for US-China relations? I'm sure Mrs Clinton would hope not.

Maybe that is why Mr Wen did not tell her more of the story behind the proverb.