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Master of his cleaver (you2 ren4 you3 yu2)
By Zhang Ciyun |
February 21, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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ANCIENT Chinese people held in high regard anyone who was equipped with consummate skills in a special field, whether they were a carpenter, tailor, painter, calligrapher, thief, cook or butcher.
Many stories and idioms about such masters remain popular today. Of them, the phrase (you2 ren4 you3 yu2) or "there is plenty of room for a butcher's cleaver" is a good example.
During the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), there was a butcher in the State of Wei who enjoyed a high reputation for his unique skills in butchering cattle.
The duke of the state wanted to offer the butcher a job in the royal kitchen.
So one day, the duke invited the butcher to demonstrate his skills in the presence of an audience, including the duke himself.
The butcher first slaughtered an ox in a manner little different to how an ordinary butcher would do the job and the slow process almost put the audience to sleep.
After hanging the dressed carcass on a big pole, the butcher began to cut it into pieces. He used his shoulders, knees and feet to hold the carcass steady.
Then, in just a split second and with a few lightning movements of his cleaver, the butcher cut the carcass into a dozen pieces of almost exactly the same size.
The audience was first dumbfounded by the dazzling performance and then burst into a prolonged round of loud applause.
The butcher told the duke that when he first entered the business, he saw the carcass as a whole and did not know where to starting cutting it.
Three years later, after having carefully studied the anatomy of the cow, he could see every joint and every piece of bone in a carcass with just a glance.
The master butcher said that an ordinary butcher would have to change his cleaver every month because he used it to cut the bones. A skillful butcher would have to change his cleaver every year, because he used it to cut the carcass meat.
"Now, the cleaver in my hand has been used by me for 19 years and I have never ground it since I bought it," he said.
"But, you can see it is still as sharp as a brand new one. This is because I can find plenty of room in the carcass for maneuvering my cleaver," the butcher explained.
Nowadays, people cite the idiom (you2 ren4 you3 yu2) to describe anyone who demonstrates exceptional facility in his field or who is more than equal to his task.
Many stories and idioms about such masters remain popular today. Of them, the phrase (you2 ren4 you3 yu2) or "there is plenty of room for a butcher's cleaver" is a good example.
During the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), there was a butcher in the State of Wei who enjoyed a high reputation for his unique skills in butchering cattle.
The duke of the state wanted to offer the butcher a job in the royal kitchen.
So one day, the duke invited the butcher to demonstrate his skills in the presence of an audience, including the duke himself.
The butcher first slaughtered an ox in a manner little different to how an ordinary butcher would do the job and the slow process almost put the audience to sleep.
After hanging the dressed carcass on a big pole, the butcher began to cut it into pieces. He used his shoulders, knees and feet to hold the carcass steady.
Then, in just a split second and with a few lightning movements of his cleaver, the butcher cut the carcass into a dozen pieces of almost exactly the same size.
The audience was first dumbfounded by the dazzling performance and then burst into a prolonged round of loud applause.
The butcher told the duke that when he first entered the business, he saw the carcass as a whole and did not know where to starting cutting it.
Three years later, after having carefully studied the anatomy of the cow, he could see every joint and every piece of bone in a carcass with just a glance.
The master butcher said that an ordinary butcher would have to change his cleaver every month because he used it to cut the bones. A skillful butcher would have to change his cleaver every year, because he used it to cut the carcass meat.
"Now, the cleaver in my hand has been used by me for 19 years and I have never ground it since I bought it," he said.
"But, you can see it is still as sharp as a brand new one. This is because I can find plenty of room in the carcass for maneuvering my cleaver," the butcher explained.
Nowadays, people cite the idiom (you2 ren4 you3 yu2) to describe anyone who demonstrates exceptional facility in his field or who is more than equal to his task.
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