The saying 'a long road tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's heart' first appears in Vying to Repay a Kindness.
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history
Its full title is 争报恩三虎下山 'Vying to Repay a Kindness: Three Tigers Come Down the Mountain'. Three Liangshan heroes, each in trouble far from the mountain, are helped by the kind wife of an official, and when a jealous concubine has her framed, all three come down from the mountain to save her.
culture
Besides the saying about the horse, it has 心惊肉战 'heart startled, flesh trembling', the early form of 心惊肉跳 'to be filled with dread'.
