不入虎穴，焉得虎子

From Book of the Later Han:

• 超曰：「不入虎穴，不得虎子。當今之計，獨有因夜以火攻虜，使彼不知我多少，必大震怖，可殄盡也。滅此虜，則鄯善破膽，功成事立矣。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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  超曰：「不入虎穴，不得虎子。当今之计，独有因夜以火攻虏，使彼不知我多少，必大震怖，可殄尽也。灭此虏，则鄯善破胆，功成事立矣。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

  From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

  Chāo yuē: “Bù rù hǔxué, bù dé hǔzǐ. dāngjīn zhī jì, dúyǒu yīn yè yǐ huǒ gōng lǔ, shǐ bǐ bùzhī wǒ duōshào, bì dà zhènbù, kě tiǎn jìn yě. Miè cǐ lǔ, zé shànshàn pòdǎn, gōngchéng shìlì yǐ.”

  (Ban) Chao said: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you cannot get the tiger's cub. Now there is only one stratagem: we will use fire to attack the (Xiongnu) caitiffs, taking advantage of (the cover of) night and that they don't know how many of us there are; we surely can cause them great terror and kill them all. Once we'll have slain all these caitiffs, Shanshan's resolve shall be shattered, and our endeavor shall succeed."

不入虎穴，焉得虎子

1. (rhetorical question) No pain, no gain; no risk, no reward; nothing ventured, nothing gained.

   • 中國人有一句老話：「不入虎穴，焉得虎子。」這句話對於人們的實踐是真理，對於認識論也是真理。 [MSC, trad.]
     中国人有一句老话：「不入虎穴，焉得虎子。」这句话对于人们的实践是真理，对于认识论也是真理。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《實踐論》 (On Practice), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Zhōngguórén yǒu yī jù lǎohuà: “Bù rù hǔxué, yān dé hǔzǐ.” Zhè jù huà duìyú rénmen de shíjiàn shì zhēnlǐ, duìyú rènshilùn yě shì zhēnlǐ.

     There is an old Chinese saying, “How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?” This saying holds true for human's practice and it also holds true for the theory of knowledge.

• Japanese: 虎穴(こけつ)に入(い)らずんば虎子(こじ)を得(え)ず (koketsu ni irazunba koji o ezu)