Cunning Rabbit's Three Burrows
Updated 2026-08-09
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Originating in the Warring States period, the phrase is best known from the Stratagems of the Warring States, where Feng Xuan secures three independent bases of support for Lord Mengchang so that his patron survives political disgrace. The image is a rabbit with three burrows: if one entrance is blocked, others remain. The principle is that a single point of dependence is fragile, and that a minimum of independent fallbacks converts catastrophic risk into recoverable loss.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Count your burrows: list every single point of failure across income, skills and relationships. - Build independence: make fallbacks that will not fail together with the primary option. - Set a floor: require at least two or three separate supports before calling yourself safe.
Anchor fast decisions
A system with one support fails completely when that support is removed, so expected loss is bounded only by the probability of removal. Adding independent supports multiplies survival probability, because the chance that all fail simultaneously is the product of their individual failure chances. The gain comes from independence, not from the raw number of options.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zdic.nethttps://www.zdic.net/hans/%E7%8B%A1%E5%85%94%E4%B8%89%E7%AA%9Fverified
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