In 613 BC, King Zhuang of Chu became the ruler of the state of Chu. However, since he became king, he went out hunting during the day and enjoyed himself drinking at night, looking dejected and inactive. In a blink of an eye, three years passed. A minister named Wu Ju was very anxious, so he visited King Zhuang of Chu and said, “There is a big bird on the mountain of Chu, with colorful feathers, but it has been sitting there for three years, neither flying nor chirping. What kind of bird is it?”
King Zhuang of Chu understood in his heart who Wu Ju was talking about. He said, "This is not an ordinary bird. This bird, once it flies, will soar high into the sky. It never rains but it pours. Go ahead, I understand." Afterwards, King Zhuang of Chu valued ministers who dared to speak directly, kept away from crafty sycophants, worked hard to govern, and made himself an overlord.
This idiom was later used to metaphorically describe achieving astonishing results without outstanding performance in daily life.
The original King Zhuang of Chu did not want to make a name for himself, but rather due to the unstable domestic politics, he silently accumulated energy and waited for the right opportunity. So, any so-called stunning moment is always a burst of long-term energy accumulation. It not only requires strategic wisdom to hide one's abilities and bide one's time, to accumulate strength from the low and look down from the high, but also needs to have a survival strategy that is good at defending oneself. In the face of complex and ever-changing situations, one needs to always hide their own brilliance, resist various temptations from the outside world, and control their inner beliefs. Being unknown is not silent, it's just that the time hasn't come yet. It didn't cry for three years in order to carefully observe the conditions of the people in the world, which is just a temporary silence of a giant, not a deep sleep. It is a secret effort, a practice of internal strength, and a search for favorable opportunities.
公元前613年，楚庄王成为了楚国的国君，可他自当上了国王以后，白天出去打猎，晚上饮酒作乐，一副颓废而无所作为的样子，一晃就是三年。有个大臣叫伍举很是着急，便找到了楚庄王说：“楚国的山上有一只大鸟，身披五彩，可它停在那里三年了，不飞也不叫，这是只什么鸟呢？”
楚庄王心里明白伍举说的是谁。他说：“这可不是普通的鸟。这种鸟，不飞则已，一飞将要冲天；不鸣则已，一鸣将要惊人。你去吧，我已经明白了。”此后，楚庄王重用敢于直谏的大臣，远离谄媚的小人，励精图治，使楚国成为了一代霸主。
这个成语后来用以比喻平时没有突出的表现，一下子做出惊人的成绩。
最初的楚庄王并不是不想一鸣惊人，而是国内政治不稳定，所以在默默地积聚能量，等待时机。所以，任何所谓的一鸣惊人无不都是长期能量积聚的迸发，它不仅需要具备韬光养晦的战略智慧，做到从低处着眼积蓄力量，从高处俯视蓄势待发，还需要具备善于守拙的生存策略，面对复杂多变的局势，需要时刻隐藏自己的光芒，禁得住外界形形色色的诱惑，把持住自己的内心信念。默默无闻，不是不鸣，只是时机未到。不鸣只是一个巨人暂时的沉默，而不是沉睡，是暗自发力，是苦练内功，是在寻找有利时机。
