Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M6136

The Fox Assuming the Tiger's Might

The Fox Assuming the Tiger's Might
DecideHigh supportGame Theory
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

The Fox Assuming the Tiger's Might is a Chinese idiom, usually referring to bullying others by relying on the power of one's superior. The original text from the Strategies of the Warring States: A tiger sought all kinds of beasts for food and caught a fox. The fox said, 'You dare not eat me! The Heavenly Emperor has appointed me to lead all beasts. Now if you eat me, you are defying the Heavenly Emperor's command. If you think my words are not credible, I will walk ahead of you, and you follow behind me, and see if any beast dares not to flee when seeing me.' The tiger thought it reasonable, so it walked with the fox. All beasts seeing them fled. The tiger did not know that the beasts fled because they feared it, but thought they feared the fox. Meaning: The tiger sought various beasts as food and caught a fox. The fox said, 'You dare not eat me! The Heavenly Emperor has appointed me to lead all beasts. Now if you eat me, you are defying the Heavenly Emperor's command. If you think my words are not credible, I will walk ahead of you, and you follow behind me, and see if any beast dares not to flee when seeing me.' The tiger thought it reasonable, so it walked with the fox. All beasts seeing them fled. The tiger did not know that the beasts fled because they feared it, but thought they feared the fox.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The Fox Assuming the Tiger's Might is a Chinese idiom, usually referring to bullying others by relying on the power of one's superior. The original text from the Strategies of the Warring States: A tiger sought all kinds of beasts for food and caught a fox. The fox said, 'You dare not eat me! The Heavenly Emperor has appointed me to lead all beasts. Now if you eat me, you are defying the Heavenly Emperor's command. If you think my words are not credible, I will walk ahead of you, and you follow behind me, and see if any beast dares not to flee when seeing me.' The tiger thought it reasonable, so it walked with the fox. All beasts seeing them fled. The tiger did not know that the beasts fled because they feared it, but thought they feared the fox. Meaning: The tiger sought various beasts as food and caught a fox.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The fox uses the tiger's might to scare away all beasts, metaphorically relying on others' power to bully others. The mechanism is 'borrowing power'.

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8B%90%E5%81%87%E8%99%8E%E5%A8%81ZH · Explicit
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