The Old Horse Knows The Way

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of the Kingdom of Ch'i was at war with the Kingdom of Gu-ju. The king of Gu-ju ordered his supreme commander to pretend to surrender to Duke Huan. So the commander of the Gu-ju army, while pretending to let Duke Huan's troops catch up to him, actually led them into a great desert known as Han-hai. Right at that time, there was a strong wind which blew the sand and stones all around and made it impossible to distinguish which direction was which. Duke Huan's troops, unable to go anywhere, realized that they had been tricked. Just then, Guan Jung of Ch'i remembered that borses are always able to find their way home, no matter how far they have strayed. So at his suggestion, the army let a few of the old horses go, and then followed where they went. And as expected, the horses led the army out of Han-hai. Today, a person who is very experienced at any given thing may be refered to as "the old horse who knows the way.

老馬識途

春秋時代，有一次，管仲和隰朋跟隨齊桓公出征孤竹國，春天去，冬天回，歸途中迷失了道路。管仲說：「可以讓老馬發揮作用了。」於是讓幾匹老馬在前面走，隊伍跟在後面，終於找到了道路。走在山裡，隊伍找不到水喝。隰朋說：「螞蟻冬天住在山南，夏天住在山北，只要順著螞蟻窩向下挖就會找到水源。」果然挖到了水。

象管仲這樣能幹、隰朋這樣聰明的人，也知道要向老馬和螞蟻學習，可是今天有許多人，不知道自己知識淺薄，也不願向別人學習，不是錯得很厲害嗎？

「老馬識途」比喻有經驗的人對事情比較熟悉。