原: 史記, 孟嘗君列傳; 經濟類編, 卷三十二/19 中
…狡兎有三窟僅得免其死耳…

狡兎三窟 (교토삼굴,jiǎotù sān kū, こうと－さんくつ), smart rabbit [has] three holes
Semper paratus (“always be prepared.”) Always have a back-up plan.

During the Warring States period (戰國時代) a retainer (食客) of Lord Maeng-sang (孟嘗君), named Pung-hweon (馮愋, 馮驩) received an order to collect the loan payments from the state of Seol (薛). He went and gathered everyone who were in debt to Lord Maeng-sang and then to the joy of everyone gathered there, he proceeded burn all of their documents of obligation. Pung-hweon came back and explained that by burning all those loan contracts he had gained gratitude and indebtedness (恩義) from people.

A year later, Lord Maeng-sang had angered King Min (泯王) of the country of Je (齊), and then he was driven out from his post to the outer parts of the kingdom. At this time, the people of Seol came out to be with Lord Maeng-sang to comfort him for 100 miles. This was the first help by Pung-hweon.

Then Pung-hweon went to the capital city of Wi (魏) and persuaded King Hye (惠王) that his country will made stronger by receiving Lord Maeng-sang. King Hye was convinced, and sent 1,000 pounds of gold and cartloads of gifts. Such gifts were sent to him three times, but following Pung-hweon’s advice, Lord Maeng-sang denied the offer, and did not receive those gifts. King Min, hearing of this, became fearful, and sent a servant with an apology, and reinstated Lord Maeng-sang to his post as a local sovereign. This was the second help provided by Pung-hweon.

As a third help, Pung-hweon advised Lord Maeng-sang to build an ancestral shrine of Je in the land of Seol. As long as the shrine existed, King Min would not be a threat to him, so Lord Maeng-sang’s authority was reaffirmed this way.

The world has always been in chaos and it is full of difficulties, so one must overcome a lot of difficulties in order to succeed in the world. People often say it is now the world of infinite competitions. Once must be well equipped in order to compete with others, and that also means one must also be prepared sufficiently for overcoming difficulties in life. And it can also produce anxiety if you have all your eggs in one basket. If one thing fails, there has to be another ready in place. This is true not only individually, but at the national level as well. There has to be some protective measures in place in case of emergencies.