Learn Chinese Words: 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú)

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

In modern society, this Chinese idiom“huà shé tiān zú” is used to describe people who, in pursuit of success or perfection, engage in excessive efforts or take unrealistic actions that ultimately destroy their original achievements or happiness.

Meaning of 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú)

“画”的意思是绘画 huà
“huà ” means to draw.
“蛇”的意思是蛇科 shé
“shé” means snake.
“添”的意思是增添 tiān
”tiān”means to add.
“足”的意思是脚  zú
“ zú” means foot.

Story

In a village, a group of people decided to hold a competition to fight for wine by drawing snakes. Everyone had to draw a snake as fast as possible, and the first one to finish would win the wine. Soon, one person finished his snake and was overjoyed, picking up the wine to drink.

However, he felt that his snake was not perfect enough. He wanted to make his snake more remarkable, so he started to draw feet on it. He did not realize that this would make his snake strange and less beautiful. He kept adding things to the snake in pursuit of perfection until it became quadrupedal and no longer looked like a snake.In the end, everyone else finished their snakes and won the wine. However, due to the person's unnecessary risks and overconfidence, his snake lost all its original beauty and meaning.

Revelation

Don't reinvent the wheel, or you will sometimes lose something, not worth the candle, and be self-defeating No matter what you do, you should respect objective facts and seek truth from facts. Anyone who does something must have specific requirements and clear goals, pursue it with a clear and firm will, and don't be carried away by victory. People who are carried away by victory are often covered by blind optimism and lead to failure. Everything should follow the laws of nature, don't reinvent the wheel, or it will be self-defeating.

Sentences

  1. Don't gild the lily when writing an article, there is not a word of unnecessary nonsense.
    写文章切忌画蛇添足，多余的废话一句话也没有。
    xiě wén zhāng qiè jì huà shé tiān zú ， duō yú de fèi huà yī jù huà yě méi yǒu.
  2. A successful banquet was spoiled by the host's gilding the lily.
    本来一场成功的宴席，因主人画蛇添足，反而坏了气氛。
    běn lái yī chǎng chéng gōng de yàn xí ， yīn zhǔ rén huà shé tiān zú ， fǎn ér huài le qì fēn.
  3. This was originally done very well. If you add extra meaning, you are gilding the lily.
    这个本来做的非常好，你再添加多余的意思，这是在画蛇添足。
    zhè gè běn lái zuò de fēi cháng hǎo ， nǐ zài tiān jiā duō yú de yì sī ， zhè shì zài huà shé tiān zú.

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