But I will look at the crab with cold eyes and see how long you can run wild. What does it mean?
But to watch the crab with a cold eye and see how long you can go sideways means to just look at the crab with a cold eye and see how long you can go sideways. It is a metaphor for observing a domineering person with contempt. It warns people not to be like crabs and run rampant, otherwise they will fall into a big fall sooner or later.
From the anonymous "Zengguang Xianwen" in the Ming Dynasty, the original text: But I will watch the crab with a cold eye to see how long you can run rampant. Don't tell when you see something, don't know when you ask. Don't worry about your own business, and come home early if you have nothing to do.
Translation: Just look at the crab with a cold eye and see how long you can crawl sideways. Don't speak out about anything you see, say you don't know anything when asked, don't bother with any other things, and go home as soon as possible if you have nothing to do.
Extended information:
Allusion: During the more than 20 years since Yan Song, the traitorous minister of the Ming Dynasty, had been doing evil in his power, those who dared to oppose him were demoted and exiled or killed. No one was spared. "Liuzhou" in the Ming Dynasty Zhang Chong, Dai Qin, and Xu Yangzheng among the "Eight Wise Men" fought resolutely against Yan Song. Among them, "Zhang Chong's Fight against Yan Song" was particularly shocking. In February of the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing, Zhang Chong impeached Prime Minister Yan Song as the head of the Ministry of Punishment.
He wrote a letter to the emperor, "It is urgent to deal with the great treachery and evil in order to express gratitude to the world." The memorial exposed Yan Song's crimes of selfishness and chaos in government from three aspects: border defense, wealth, and talents, and asked the emperor to punish Yan Song. , in order to calm public anger and inspire the soldiers guarding the border, and thus achieve the purpose of political reform. When Zhang Chong presented the memorial, Wu Shilai of the Criminal Division and Dong Chuance, the head of the Criminal Division, also petitioned to impeach Yan Song on the same day.
The mediocre Emperor Jiajing listened to the treacherous prime minister Yan Song, and indiscriminately regarded Zhang Chong, Wu Shilai, and Dong Chuance as traitorous ministers, and had the three of them imprisoned. Because the court official Zheng Xiao tried his best to speak for Zhang Chong, Zhang Chong was spared the death penalty. Afterwards, Zhang Chong was relegated to Duyun Guard in Guizhou for nine years. It was not until Yan Song's downfall and Mu Zong's accession to the throne that he was appointed as the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He later held important positions, reaching the rank of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.