To carve wood for a swan
Carved wood as a swan, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is k è m ù w é IH ú, which means that imitation is not realistic, but similar. It's from Jing Guan Suo Yan by Zheng Yuan of Ming Dynasty.
Idioms and allusions
[source] Volume 1 of Jing Guan Suo Yan by Zheng Yuan of Ming Dynasty: "Yang's FA Yan and Wang's Zhong Shuo are the so-called carved wood as a swan."
Discrimination of words
It's like a duck
Chinese PinYin : kè mù wéi hú
To carve wood for a swan
Rely on courage to belittle the enemy. shì yǒng qīng dí
cultivate morality through acting decidedly. guǒ xíng yù dé
Take the bull and ride the horse. fú niú chéng mǎ
Wash the marrow and cut the hair. xǐ suǐ fá máo