have great ambition but little talent
The Chinese idiom is "Zhi ì D à C á ISH à", which means that although the ambition is great, the ability is not enough. It comes from the biography of Kong Rong in the later Han Dynasty.
The origin of Idioms
In the biography of Kong Rong in the book of the later Han Dynasty, it is said that "he bears his high spirit, aims at Jingnan, but has a wide range of talents and ideas, so far he has not succeeded."
Idiom usage
[example] this person exaggerates.
Idioms and allusions
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Kong Rong tried his best to protect the interests of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, satirized and opposed Cao Cao's policy. In order to save food, Cao Cao banned drinking. Kong Rong wrote an article about the benefits of drinking. He said that Cao Cao was wrong in front of the envoys of the east Wu Dynasty, but he was killed by Cao Cao. Later generations commented that he was a man with lofty ideals and few talents, and could not accomplish great things.
Chinese PinYin : zhì dà cái shū
have great ambition but little talent
sometimes hot and sometimes cold. hū lěng hū rè
the banners stood so thick that they hid the sun. jīng qí bì rì
deep in the night and all is quiet. gēng lán rén jǐng