A tiger that knows better stays in its cage; a leopard content hides in the mist. In traditional Chinese cult…
A tiger that knows better stays in its cage; a leopard content hides in the mist.
In traditional Chinese culture, mist and leopards share a natural bond. One, because leopards hide well in mist; two, because they often appear together in hermit poetry. The prototype traces back to Liu Xiang's Biographies of Exemplary Women, where a black leopard stays in the mountains for seven days without eating during rain and mist. It is often a metaphor for scholars living in seclusion.