gaze at the wind and seize the shadow
As a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is w ò f ē NGB ǔ y ǐ ng. There is no basis in fact in metaphor. It's from xianshiqi.
The origin of Idioms
Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty wrote in his book "xianshiqi": "today I would like to record 150 pieces, which are compiled into one axis. I will present them to you in a sealed way, holding the wind and catching the shadow, casting wood and carving ice. I dare to ask for kindness, but I hope to engrave them."
Analysis of Idioms
Synonym: futile
Antonym: get twice the result with half the effort
Idiom usage
It is often used in figurative sentences.
Examples
Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty wrote in the book of offering poems: "holding the wind and catching shadows, casting wood and carving ice, dare to seek kindness and harmony, but hope to carve."
Chinese PinYin : wò fēng bǔ yǐng
gaze at the wind and seize the shadow
The great and the great knock on each other. àng yú xiāng qiāo
evade the subject under discussion. wáng gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā
A foot of water churns to make a wave. yī chǐ shuǐ fān téng zuò yī zhàng bō