Said of a person who has the necessary conditions for developing his talent, or of a person who has found the right assistants.

IN the closing years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, who later built the Shu Kingdom, suffered one military defeat after another and had to rove with the remaining several thousand men under him. Nearly fifty years old now, he eagerly hoped that he could find a talented man to help him turn the tide. He heard that there was an aspiring man of talent named Zhuge Liang who was living in seclusion. So Liu Bei decided to request Zhuge to come out and assist him in improving his position.

Thrice Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang in a severe winter, seeing him only the last time. Zhuge analysed the situation, pointed the way out and outlined the strategy that should be followed. Then Liu Bei made him his chief counsellor. The two got on well with each other and became fast friends.

Liu Bei's sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, however, resented the growing friendship between Liu and his adviser. "With Zhuge Liang working with me," Liu Bei explained, "I'm like a fish that has been let into water again. Please say nothing more in complaint." Feeling quite ashamed, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei changed their attitude.

History of the Three Kingdoms