sài wēng shī mǎ

Literal translation: Sai-Won (塞翁, sài wēng) loses (失, shī) a horse (馬, mǎ)

Actual Meaning: Every dark cloud has a silver lining, and vice versa

Old man Sai-Won bred horses. One day, one of his horses went missing. The neighbors comforted Sai-Won, afraid that the old man would hurt himself looking for the horse. To their surprise, Sai-Won simply smiled. “Losing a horse is no big deal - this might even be a blessing in disguise!” The neighbors were relieved, but incredulous. “A coping mechanism,” they muttered to each other.

A few days later, Sai-Won’s horse returned with a friend: a strong, youthful Hunnic steed. The neighbors were impressed. They congratulated Sai-Won on his foresight - losing the horse was a blessing after all! However, Sai-Won frowned and said: “This is a terrible omen - I must be due for a reckoning with my good luck.” The neighbors dismissed his silly ramblings yet again. Perhaps Sai-Won didn’t know how to emote properly - someone suggested Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Along came Sai-Won’s only son. He ecstatically mounted the new horse, only to fall and and break his leg. Once again, the neighbors gathered to console the old man, only to find that - surprise, surprise - Sai-Won was smiling with a rather sadistic joy. “At least he’s still alive - I count myself lucky!” Everyone gave up on interpreting Sai-Won’s thought process, as they were characters in a story and hence unable to predict where the story was obviously going.

The Huns soon decided to attack China, possibly because their horses kept crossing the border for better perks (free hay and drinks!). Young men across the empire were recruited and killed in battle - that is, except for Sai-Won’s son, with his foot in a cast, his hand in a bag of Doritos, and his beady little eyes on an episode of current-season anime.

TL;DR: Sai-Won demonstrates healthy stoicism by assuming that life is unpredictable and random. Perhaps there is always a rainbow at the end of every storm - or, vice versa, an economic bubble at the end of every fiscally irresponsible bull market.