One of China's hottest Horse Year memes this year has a surprising origin.

Original idiom: "Instant success" (马到成功 mǎ dào chéng gōng) — which directly translates as "when the horse arrives, success follows".

The most likely source traces back to Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), the first emperor of China. In 220 BC, travelling to pay homage to the sun, he led ten thousand horses and soldiers to worship a divine stone, which was said to have been left by the goddess Nüwa (女娲) when she patched the sky.

Afterwards, things went smoothly for the emperor.

The court alchemist Xu Fu (徐福) wrote:

"Ten thousand horses and soldiers rode the royal road; Upon Emperor Qin's prayer to the stone, great victory was bestowed" 万马千军御驰道，始皇拜石得成功。

But it took another 1,500 years — and Yuan Dynasty playwright Guan Hanqing (关汉卿) — to turn that legend into the idiom we know today.

In plain English:

The moment the horses arrive, victory follows. Instant, effortless success. (马到成功)

This Horse Year, netizens swapped one character.

"Arrive" (到 dào) became "invert" (倒 dào).

Identical in sound, completely different meaning.

For the "Crying Horse" (哭哭马), a faulty toy turned viral success with its upside-down mouth, suddenly had its own idiom:

"Turning the smile upside down brings success to the Year of the Horse" (马倒成功)

Same sound, but completely different meaning!

Example:

The Crying Horse went from factory defect to bestseller overnight — a perfect case of 马倒成功. 哭哭马从残次品到爆款，真是马倒成功。