Xīngxīng zhī huǒ kěyǐ liáoyuán.*

Lit A single spark may start a prairie fire.

Fig A small incident or action can have great consequences.

Note [This is an updated paraphrase of a sentence originally in Shāng Shū: Pán Gēng; it was used as the title of a famous essay by Mao Zedong, and was widely used as a political slogan during the Cultural Revolution; as a chengyu: xīnghuǒ-liáoyuán.]

Topics ACTION AROUSAL chengyu CONSEQUENCES Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong Pán Gēng political slogan Shāng Shū xīnghuǒ-liáoyuán