Draw a tiger but not a dog(huà hǔ bù chéng fǎn lèi quǎn)

Draw a tiger but not a dog

Hu à h ǔ B ù ch é NGF ǎ NL è iqu ǎ n is a metaphor for unrealistic pursuit of too high a goal, aiming for too high a goal, and failing to achieve in the end. It also means to imitate and distort. On the contrary, it's not the same.

allusion

original text

In the biography of Ma Yuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty written by Fan Ye of the Southern Dynasty, at the beginning, his brothers Yan and dun liked to ridicule and despise the Xiake. Before the aid, he wrote a admonition: "I want you to hear about people's mistakes. If you hear about your parents' names, you can hear them with your ears, but you can't speak them with your mouth. It's a great evil for me to discuss people's merits and demerits. I'd rather die than hear about my descendants. You and Cao know how evil I am, so when you reply, Shi Jin will tie the knot and apply for the precepts of your parents, so that you and Cao will never forget. Long BOGAO is honest and honest, Zhou Shen is speechless, modest and thrifty, honest and powerful. My love is very important. I hope you and Cao will follow suit. Du Jiliang is a gallant man. He likes righteousness, worries about people, and enjoys people's happiness. He is clear and has nothing to lose. His father's death has brought him many guests. After several counties, I love him so much that I don't want you to be effective. As a result, he is still a person of imperial edict. The so-called "draw a tiger but not a dog" is the same. As far as Ji Liang is concerned, the prefectures will get off the train and gnash their teeth. The prefectures and prefectures think that I am always cold hearted, so I don't want my children and grandchildren to follow suit. "

translation

At first, Ma Yan and Ma Dun, the sons of brother Ma Yuan, liked to ridicule current affairs and had little contact with Xiake. Ma Yuan, who had been in Jiaozhi before, wrote home to admonish him: "I think you should listen to other people's mistakes just like you listen to your parents' names. You can hear them with your ears, but you can't speak them with your mouth. I like to talk about the length of people and ridicule current affairs. This is what I hate most. I would rather die than hear such behavior from my descendants. You know that I hate it very much. The reason why I want to talk about it again is that I want to state the admonition of my parents just like when a man and a woman are married, so that you will remember it. Long BOGAO is honest, considerate and prudent. He is modest, thrifty, honest and just. He has prestige. I love him very much and respect him. I hope you can learn from him. The hero Du Jiliang likes to show his loyalty, worry about others, and enjoy others. Good and bad people get along well. When his father died, people from several counties came to mourn. I love him and respect him, but I don't want you to learn from him. If you don't learn from long BOGAO, you are still a prudent and diligent person. You can't carve a swan like a duck. If you don't learn from Du Jiliang, you will degenerate into a frivolous child in the world. The so-called painting a tiger is not like painting a dog. Up to now, Du Jiliang still doesn't know. The generals in the county hate him as soon as they get off the bus. All the prefectures say that I always feel cold for him, so I don't want my descendants to learn from him. "

interpretation

In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Fubo General Ma Yuan was very strict with the education of his sons and nephews, hoping that they would become useful talents. He doesn't like his nephews Ma Yan and Ma Dun gossiping behind others. He wrote a letter to admonish them to learn from long BOGAO instead of Du Jiliang. If they can't learn from Du Jiliang, they will draw like a dog instead of a tiger. Later, he used the metaphor of "draw a tiger but not a dog" to describe his ambition and his failure to achieve anything. It also means to imitate and distort. On the contrary, it's not the same. It is also called "tiger like dog" or "tiger like dog". the ancient meaning of dog is small dog, and the ancient meaning of dog is big dog. The big one is a dog, and the small one is a dog. " ——Shuowen. Ma Yuan's original meaning is to draw a tiger and a crouching dog. Because dogs are synonymous with dogs in today's Chinese, today's tiger like dogs can also be written as tiger like dogs.

Discrimination

Usage: as predicate, attributive, object; not practical, metaphor ambitious. synonym: painting a tiger is not like a dog.

Examples

Liu Zhiji's Shitong · Liujia in Tang Dynasty: for example, Junmao's Sui Shu, although he wanted to describe the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the Charter of Yu Xia, his description is similar to Confucius' family language and Linchuan's Shishuo, so it can be said that he can't draw a tiger but a dog. Pu Songling's strange tales from a lonely studio Rouge in the Qing Dynasty: I have promised you my body, but I'm afraid I'll turn a tiger into a dog and cause slander. Liu Bannong's reading the biography of flowers on the sea: if you don't have the intelligence to dispatch it and the strength to carry it, you will only be a tiger like a dog. Chapter 11 of the lamp on the wrong side of the road: "the great prime minister is very clever. He is a man who can draw tigers and cats at the first sight." Xiaoyi said with a smile: "Duanfu is not very smart, afraid to draw tiger like dogs."

Chinese PinYin : huà hǔ bù chéng fǎn lèi quǎn