成也蕭何敗也蕭何 (Chéng yě Xiāo Hé, bài yě Xiāo Hé)
Lit. raised up by Xiao He, cast down by Xiao He (idiom); Fig. a situation where one’s success and failure are both due to the same factor.
Xiao He of Western Han was an important advisor to the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang. He once recommended Han Xin, who was [extremely] talented in military strategies, to Liu Bang as grand general, where Xin would make many great contributions to the founding [establishment] of the Han Dynasty. Later, someone reported to Liu Bang’s wife, Empress Lü, accusing Han Xin of plotting a revolt. Empress Lü wanted to summon Han Xin to the palace but was afraid that he would not give in, so she held a discussion with Xiao He [on the matter]. Xiao He [then] deceived Han Xin into entering the palace on the pretext of celebrating the victory against the rebellions (e.g. the Chu-Han Contention against Xiang Yu and his troops). Once Han Xin entered the palace, he was [apprehended and] executed at Changle Palace’s bell tower (長樂宮鍾室) on the [trumped up] charge of treason. As such, there is a popular saying among the common folks that “Success is due to Xiao He (Han Xin became grand general due to Xiao He’s recommendation), downfall is also due to Xiao He (Han Xin was killed due to Xiao He’s strategy)”.
“Success is due to Xiao He, downfall is also due to Xiao He” is a metaphor for the success or failure of a matter, whether it turned out well or badly, being caused by one [the same] person.
—– VOCABULARY —–
推薦 tuī jiàn – to recommend; recommendation [[giới thiệu, tiến cử]]
推 tuī – to push; to cut; to refuse; to reject; to decline; to shirk (responsibility); to put off; to delay; to push forward; to nominate; to elect; massage [[thôi: đẩy, đùn; trừ bỏ, bài trừ; kéo dài thời gian, lần lữa; trút cho, nhường cho; tuyển chọn, bầu lên, tiến cử; tìm gỡ cho ra mối, suy tìm, nghiên cứu; mở rộng, suy rộng]]
薦 jiàn – to recommend; to offer sacrifice (arch.); grass; straw mat [[tiến: cỏ, rơm cho súc vật ăn; chiếu cói, đệm rơm; lót, đệm; dâng, cúng; tiến cử, giới thiệu; nhiều lần, trùng phức]]
善於 shàn yú – to be good at; to be adept at
打仗 dǎ zhàng – to fight a battle; to go to war [[đánh nhau, đánh lộn]]
告發 gào fā – to lodge an accusation; accusation (law) [[cáo giác, mách]]
肯 kěn – to agree; to consent; to be ready (to do sth); willing [[khẳng: khá, ừ được, đồng ý; nguyện, vui lòng; biểu thị phản vấn, tương đương với “khởi” 豈 – há, há chịu]]
就範 jiù fàn – to submit, to give in
範 fàn – pattern; model; example [[phạm: khuôn đúc; khuôn phép, phép tắc; giới hạn; có thẻ dùng làm phép tắc]]
設計 shè jì – plan; design; to design; to plan
設 shè – to set up; to arrange; to establish; to found; to display [[thiết: sắp bày, đặt bày; thành lập, sáng lập; ví thử, nếu, giả sử]]
慶賀 qìng hè – to congratulate; to celebrate [[chúc mừng, khen ngợi]]
慶 qìng – to celebrate [[khánh: việc mừng, lễ mừng; phúc; đức hạnh, điều lành; chúc mừng, làm lễ mừng]]
賀 hè – to congratulate [[hạ: chúc mừng, chúc]]
叛 pàn – to betray; to rebel; to revolt [[bạn: làm phản, vi phản, phản bội]]
半 bàn – half; semi-; incomplete [[bán: nửa, rưỡi; ở khoảng giữa, lưng chừng; rất nhỏ; hồi lâu; không hoàn toàn, nửa chừng]]
騙 piàn – to cheat; to swindle; to deceive; to get on (a horse etc) by swinging one leg over [[phiến: lừa gạt, lừa đảo; cưỡi, nhảy lên lưng ngựa; trò bịp, trò lường gạt]]
室 shì – room; work unit; grave; scabbard; family or clan [[thất: gian phòng chính; phòng; nhà, gia; triều đình, triều đại, vương triều; chồng, vợ; huyệt chôn, phần mộ]]