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对牛弹琴 (dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2) - Lute before cattle
By Zhang Ciyun |
November 23, 2008, Sunday
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It seems that no matter how different two languages may be, it is always possible to find matching expressions.
For example, when English speakers say "to beat your head against a brick wall" or "to cast pearls before swine", the Chinese are very likely to quote the idiom (dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2), or "to play the lute to the cattle."
This expression derives from a story that originally means one should address the audience in a language that it recognises.
Mou Rong was a well-known scholar who lived in the late years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and had spent many years studying the Buddhist Scriptures.
One day, the scholar gave a lecture on Buddhism to a group of Confucianists. During the lecture, Mou never used a single word from the Buddhist sutra. Instead, he repeatedly quoted paragraphs and expressions from the Confucian classics to explain the gist of Buddhism.
One guy in the audience interrupted Mou to ask why he never used a single Buddhist term in his lecture.
Mou explained by telling the gathered Confucianists a story.
"A long, long time ago, there was an accomplished musician who once played the lute to a herd of cattle. But, the cattle kept grazing around and showed no reaction to the music.
"After carefully observing the expressions of the cattle, the musician realized it was not that the animals did not hear the music but that they could not understand it.
"The musician then started to play the lute imitating the sound of gadflies, mosquitoes and houseflies. Immediately, the cattle stopped grazing and listened intently to the music."
The scholar concluded the story by saying that for the same reason, he had used Confucianist terms to explain the Buddhist canon to a group of Confucianists.
Today, the idiom is still frequently used in both spoken and written Chinese.
But its contemporary meaning refers to someone whose words are falling on deaf ears, is playing to the wrong audience, or is reading Shakespeare to a group of illiterate log heads.
For example, when English speakers say "to beat your head against a brick wall" or "to cast pearls before swine", the Chinese are very likely to quote the idiom (dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2), or "to play the lute to the cattle."
This expression derives from a story that originally means one should address the audience in a language that it recognises.
Mou Rong was a well-known scholar who lived in the late years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and had spent many years studying the Buddhist Scriptures.
One day, the scholar gave a lecture on Buddhism to a group of Confucianists. During the lecture, Mou never used a single word from the Buddhist sutra. Instead, he repeatedly quoted paragraphs and expressions from the Confucian classics to explain the gist of Buddhism.
One guy in the audience interrupted Mou to ask why he never used a single Buddhist term in his lecture.
Mou explained by telling the gathered Confucianists a story.
"A long, long time ago, there was an accomplished musician who once played the lute to a herd of cattle. But, the cattle kept grazing around and showed no reaction to the music.
"After carefully observing the expressions of the cattle, the musician realized it was not that the animals did not hear the music but that they could not understand it.
"The musician then started to play the lute imitating the sound of gadflies, mosquitoes and houseflies. Immediately, the cattle stopped grazing and listened intently to the music."
The scholar concluded the story by saying that for the same reason, he had used Confucianist terms to explain the Buddhist canon to a group of Confucianists.
Today, the idiom is still frequently used in both spoken and written Chinese.
But its contemporary meaning refers to someone whose words are falling on deaf ears, is playing to the wrong audience, or is reading Shakespeare to a group of illiterate log heads.
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