五十步笑一百步 [A 50-stepper ridicules a 100-stepper] (#185, Topic B)

After translating the third of three Chinese classics into English, back in 2001, my brother-in-law Charles wanted me to do a book on Chinese Idioms 中國成語. Thus, off and on, I have been collecting them -- Chinese idioms are invariably history-based; one appreciates their poignancy better when one is made aware of historical events on which based. One of the more difficult Chinese idioms is the title of today's entry. Why would one who has managed 50 steps ridicule one who has managed 100 steps? Good question. The idiom does not make sense -- unless one thinks outside the box, unless these steps are backward steps and not forward steps. It seems that, during a war in ancient times, two soldiers, instead of charging forward to fight, elected to step back to safety. Needless to say, the one who retreated by 50 steps, though far removed from the battle line, was still closer to it than the one who retreated by 100 steps. So, the 50-stepper mockingly said to the 100-stepper: "Ha, ha, look at you, retreating by 100 steps. Shame on you." The 100-stepper, with nothing meaningful to say, simply maintained his silence. In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the lead editorial and a long ed-op piece were devoted to the just concluded Doha Round of international trade negotiation. On that day, the U.S. Trade representative, who led the US team, was also interviewed by CNBC. Reading the two stories and listening to the interview, I could not help being reminded of the Chinese idiom. The negotiation, on which many developing countries attached high hopes, broke down badly -- many forecast that it would signify its end. Why is the Chinese idiom applicable? If one substitutes the fighting line to free trade, one might equate the 50-stepper to USA and the 100-stepper to EU -- where steps = farm subsidies. It seems that USA's farm subsidies (in an earlier series of special reports, the WP showed the multi-million-dollar subsidies to each farm-owning-but-nonproducing corporation in midwest), were something to the tune of 50% of market value. If one finds this inconsistent with free trade, that practised by EU members would be further removed from that ideal, since their subsidies approached 75%. So, the US Representative pointed her finger at her EU counterparts -- ha, ha, look at you, subsidizing your farm constituencies so heavily. A modern-day example of a 50-stepper ridiculing a 100-stepper. Oh, well.