a man of inferior and ordinary ability(chū lì yōng cái)

a man of inferior and ordinary ability

It is a Chinese idiom. Its pinyin is ch ū L ì y ō NGC á I, which means a metaphor for mediocre and useless people. It is often used as a modest word. It's from Chuang Tzu's xiaoyaoyou.

Idiom explanation

Ailanthus altissima: Ailanthus altissima, oak: oak, tree of no timber.

The origin of Idioms

Zhuangzi xiaoyaoyou: "I have a big tree, which is called ailanthus. Its big root is swollen but not in the ink, and its twigs are curled but not in the rules. The craftsman will not care about the painting

Idiom usage

It is a metaphor for useless material. He said, "how dare you take such a high reputation?" The thirty sixth chapter of romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong in Ming Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : chū lì yōng cái