Good times don't last long. This Chinese proverb appears to be an accurate description of Sino-US relations, which have rapidly been going downhill in recent weeks since the fleeting bilateral warm-up at the beginning of Barack Obama's presidency.
It seems only yesterday that Obama and the other American officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, courted mainland leaders in November in Beijing by quoting Chinese proverbs and hoping the two countries can 'cross the river in a common boat'.
Now the boat is plunging into deep, swirling waters while fights have broken out over trade, the Chinese currency, Washington's US$6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, Obama's planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, internet freedom and Beijing's alleged cyber-warfare against the West in the wake of Google's threat to pull out of the mainland over censorship and hacking attacks.
Most of the overseas media and foreign analysts seem to agree that relations could get worse in the near future.
With the American economy still struggling with high unemployment and politicians gearing up for mid-term elections for the US Congress, China is most likely to become the whipping boy again this year.
What particularly worries some overseas analysts has been an increasingly assertive stance from China's senior officials, official media and internet users.