why break a butterfly on the wheel(shā jī yān yòng niú dāo)

why break a butterfly on the wheel

How to use a bull's knife to kill a chicken is a metaphor for doing small things. Why spend a lot of effort? That is, don't make a mountain out of a molehill. Kill: dispose, carry out, do; chicken: trivial things; ox knife: people or things with powerful functions and abilities. It's like doing small things without great effort.

The source of the story is "how to kill a chicken with an ox knife" and the original work "how to cut a chicken with an ox knife". This idiom comes from the Analects of Confucius, Yanghuo, and also from Shiji Zhongni disciple biography. At the end of the spring and Autumn period, Confucius' student Ziyou worked as a county magistrate in Wucheng County of the state of Lu. Once, when Kong Qiu came to Wucheng, he heard the sound of playing the piano and singing. He smiled and lobbied: "there is no need for rites and music to govern this small place. For example, why use a big knife to kill a chicken Ziyou refuted him by quoting what Confucius had said before: "I've heard teachers say before that gentlemen can love each other when they learn rites and music, and villains can be easily driven when they learn rites and music. Why do you make fun of me when I do what you say? " After listening to Ziyou's argument, Confucius immediately changed his words and said, "Ziyou's right. What I said just now is just a joke." Later, people quoted the idiom "kill a chicken with an ox knife" or "cut a chicken with an ox knife" to describe why it takes a lot of effort to do small things, that is, don't make a mountain out of a molehill.

Chinese PinYin : shā jī yān yòng niú dāo