try to carve a swan and at least you 'll get a duck(kè hú lèi wù)

try to carve a swan and at least you 'll get a duck

It's a Chinese idiom. Pinyin is k è h ú L è IW ù, which means that you can't draw a swan but still look like a duck. The analogy imitates although not lifelike, but also similar. It comes from the biography of Ma Yuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty.

Idiom information

Carve: depict; Swan: Swan; class: like, like; duck: duck. If you can't draw a swan, it's still like a duck. The analogy imitates although not lifelike, but also similar.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Ma Yuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty, it is said that "if you can't do anything high, you're still a person who is cautious about imperial edicts. The so-called carving of swans can't be regarded as a kind of duck. If you don't succeed in a good season, you'll be trapped in a world of light and thin children. If you don't succeed in painting a tiger, you'll be like a dog. "

Idioms and allusions

At the beginning of Fan Ye's Later Han Dynasty biography of Ma Yuan, the elder brother Yan and dun liked to satirize and despise the Xiake. Before the aid, he wrote a admonition: "I want you to hear people's mistakes, just like hearing the name of your parents. 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 county will always get off the train and gnash its teeth. The prefecture thinks that I am always cold hearted, so I don't want my children and grandchildren to follow suit. At first, my brother's sons, Ma Yan and Ma Dun, were fond of making sarcastic remarks about other people's affairs and making friends with chivalrous people. On the way to Jiaozhi, I wrote a letter to warn them: "I hope you have heard about other people's mistakes, like hearing the names of your parents: you can hear them in your ears, but you can't talk about them in your mouth. I like to talk about the merits and demerits of others, and make random comments on the court's laws, which I hate. I would rather die than have my children and grandchildren behave like this. As you know, I am very disgusted with this kind of behavior, which is why I have stressed it again and again. Just like my daughter's parents warned me again and again before she got married, I hope you don't forget. " "Long BOGAO is honest and honest. He has nothing to blame for what he says. Modest, thrifty and dignified. I love him and respect him. I hope you can learn from him. Du Jiliang is a chivalrous man with a sense of justice. He regards other people's worries as his own worries and other people's happiness as his own happiness. He makes friends with good and bad people. When his father died, many people came. I love and respect him, but I don't want you to learn from him. If you don't succeed in learning from longbogao, you can also become a prudent and modest person. The so-called carving swan can not be like a duck. Once you fail to learn from Du Jiliang, you will become a dandy. The so-called "painting tiger is not like painting dog". Up to now, Du Jiliang still doesn't know that the generals of the county gnash their teeth at him when they come to office, and the people in the prefecture have great opinions on him. I always feel cold for him. That's why I don't want my descendants to learn from him. " In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan, general Fubo, was very strict with the education of his sons and nephews, hoping that they would become useful talents. He didn't like his nephews Ma Yan and Ma Dun gossiping behind others. He wrote a letter to admonish them to learn from Du Jiliang and long BOGAO. If you can't learn, it's like you can't draw a tiger. Instead, you can draw like a dog. Later, he used the metaphor of "carving geese and flocks" to describe the imitations, though they are not realistic, but they are similar. it also refers to the imitation and distortion of metaphor, which is just the opposite. In Bixing, the literary mind and carving of dragons written by Liang Liuxie of the Southern Dynasty, it is said that "although the comparison is complicated, it is most valuable to be incisive. If we engrave the swans and birds of a feather, there is nothing we can take." In the preface to the Cong Zhi of sheltering Lu in Qing Dynasty, it is said that "if you eat the past like a stick, you will become a duck." Ma Yuan, a famous general in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was named "Fubo general". Ma Yuan has two nephews, one is Ma Yan, the other is Ma dun. They usually like to talk about other people's right and wrong, so Ma Yuan was very worried about them, so he wrote a letter to them. the content of this letter is: "I hate to talk about the length of others all my life. I hope you can hear people talk about other people's faults, just like your parents. You can only listen and not participate in the discussion. I hope you can learn from long BOGAO. He is a kind, prudent, thrifty and modest man. Although he is not in a high position, I respect him very much. I hope you can follow his example. Du Jiliang is a chivalrous man who can share weal and woe with others. He can make friends with them no matter whether they are good or bad. Although I respect him, I don't want you to follow his example. if you learn from long BOGAO, even if you can't, you can still become a cautious person, just like if you can't carve a swan, you can still become a duck; if you can't learn from Du Jiliang, you will become a frivolous and dissolute person, which is like painting a dog instead of a tiger. "

Idiom usage

In Bixing, the literary mind and the carving of dragons written by Liang and Liu Xie in the Southern Dynasty, it is said that "although the comparison of categories is complicated, it is extremely valuable. If we are to carve a swan like a duck, there is nothing we can do."

Chinese PinYin : kè hú lèi wù