attend to the trivialities and neglect the fundamentals(bèi běn qū mò)

attend to the trivialities and neglect the fundamentals

It is an idiom, pronounced B è IB ěū NQ ū mॸ, which refers to doing things without paying attention to the root, but only paying attention to the details.

explain

In ancient times, agriculture was the foundation and industry and commerce was the end. It means abandoning farming and engaging in industry and commerce. Abandon the root and pursue the minor. It refers to doing things without paying attention to the root, but only paying attention to the details. 1. Abandon the root. To the end: 1. 2. Pursue details. 3. It refers to engaging in and advocating industry and commerce.

source

"When the people were close to the Warring States period, they all went from the beginning to the end." There are many people, or they are hungry and cold. ——Ban Gu's biography of Wei in Han Dynasty

Discrimination of words

In the Warring States period, in order to strengthen diplomatic relations with Zhao, Qi sent envoys to visit Zhao Wei. Before opening the letter, Zhao Wei asked the envoy, "what's the situation in your country? How are the crops? How are the people? And your king? " The envoys were very unhappy when they heard this, so they answered, "I've come to greet you by the order of the king. You don't ask about our king, but you ask about the crops and the people first. In this way, you will be cheap first and expensive later." Zhao Wei said with a smile: "your idea is wrong. Think about it. Without crops, how can there be people? Without the people, where can a monarch come from? Do you want to give up the root to ask about the last part first? " "Give up the root, ask about the last thing" has been extended by later generations as "give up the root and pursue the last", that is, pay attention to the unimportant things first instead of the fundamental. The meaning of "abandoning the essence and pursuing the end" is a little different from "abandoning the essence and asking the end". Pursuing the end is to pursue small interests, just like a businessman in business. Instead of paying attention to the amount of investment, he first calculates small interests. As a result, he loses a lot of investment for small profits. In fact, this idiom satirizes those short-sighted people who do not plan for the future, but care about the immediate interests. As a result, the gain is not worth the loss.

Chinese PinYin : bèi běn qū mò