越王勾践世家

After 夫差 of Wu defeated him in 494 BC, 勾践 of Yue submitted to his conqueror, then went home and rebuilt his state for some twenty years before destroying Wu in 473 BC. Sima Qian writes only that he kept a gall bladder by his seat and tasted it at every meal; the brushwood bed of 卧薪尝胆 was added in later retellings.

Once Yue had won, the minister 范蠡 left the court and warned his colleague Wen Zhong: 飞鸟尽，良弓藏；狡兔死，走狗烹 'when the birds are gone the good bow is put away; when the cunning hares are dead the hunting dog is cooked'. Wen Zhong stayed, and the king later forced him to kill himself.