Riding on a tiger's back - tough and rough.

There is a Chinese saying " riding on a tiger's back" and it simply means you are in a position of power but uncertain future. In the Chinese culture, the tiger is a very fierce animal and is only second to the lion as the King of the jungle. Imagine when you are riding on a tiger, everybody will fear you because of the tiger but at the same time, the tiger is trying to eat you as well because you are riding on its back. You can only to hold on and once you get down from its back, the tiger will eat you.  Of course, you may say that you can tame the tiger when you on it. Hopefully, you can do this impossible task to save your life.

When some one says that he is " riding on a tiger's back" , it means that he is in a difficult position and he don't know what to do. Riding on it would be tough and rough and getting down is to be killed. In life, there are many such difficult moments. Some times we bluff our self that we can out run the tiger once we get down from its back or if we stay long enough on its back, we can make friend with the tiger. It may happen but this is a tough question and we need a tough decision.

Why do we have to be in such difficult positions? It is our choice all the while. Riding on the back of the tiger could make us enjoy the power which comes with the tiger. There is a saying " absolute power corrupts" and the feeling of power cannot be easily given up once we have tasted it. There are so many examples of past Prime Ministers  or Presidents who go to a great extent to preserve their position. Some becomes tyrants and hold on to their fort for many decades until they are eventually overthrown.

In this cases, the tiger is the Government position and the power goes with it is the executive power.  The tiger is only used literally but it can be applied to many situations. For some leaders , once they have committed a crime, it will not be easy to step down because they could be prosecuted and be "eaten" up by the people whom  they have committed the crime on. In this situation, it has the same feeling " like riding on a tiger's back". Crime does not pay and once, you have committed a crime , there is no turning back.

So, the advise is to refrain yourself from putting yourself in that position and the choice is yours.

Namaste.

Some history to backup the wise sayings :

Wen Jiao lived in Qi County during the Jin Dynasty. At that time, Emperor Jin Cheng ruled the land. A high-ranking general named Sun Jun rebelled against the emperor and captured the capital city of Jian Kang [today's Nanjing].
Wen Jiao managed to organize an alliance to fight Sun Jun. But General Tao Kan hesitated about whether he should be a part of the alliance when faced with such a strong rebel army. The alliance almost broke up on several occasions. Finally, Wen Jiao visited Tao Kan and told him, "In light of the current situation, there is no other way out. It is like riding on the back of a tiger and finding it hard to get off. The only way out is to kill it." Wen Jiao thus persuaded Tao Kan. The alliance overcame its difficulties and defeated the rebel army.
"Riding on the back of a tiger and finding it hard to get off" has thus come to mean that someone is stuck in a difficult position and has no way out.