The Chinese have a saying which says, "When the city walls burn, the fire will reach Ch'ih Chung-yu." The underlying meaning has been used by later generations as a metaphor to describe those people who are made scapegoats, or suffer from the misfortune of others.
此後人們所說「城門失火，殃及池魚」，就是出自這個典故，用來比喻無辜者受到災禍波及。