Chengyu and their stories: 画蛇添足, 守株待兔, 塞翁失马, 对牛弹琴

A story in four characters

Many 成语 (chéngyǔ, set idioms) compress an ancient anecdote. Educated speakers expect you to know the story, because the story fixes the meaning, and usually the attitude (praise or blame).

画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú): drawing feet on a snake

From 《战国策》. A man of Chu gave his retainers a flask of wine: too little for all, enough for one. They agreed that whoever drew a snake on the ground first would drink it. One finished first and, wine in hand, boasted that he could add feet as well. Before he was done, another finished his snake, took the wine and said: "Snakes have no feet. How can you give it feet?" Meaning: spoiling something by adding what isn't needed. Always critical.

• 文章已经写得很好了，最后这段是画蛇添足。The essay was already good: this last paragraph is unnecessary.

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù): waiting by the stump for a hare

From 《韩非子》. A farmer in the state of Song saw a hare run into a tree stump in his field, break its neck and die. He put down his plough and waited by the stump for another hare. None came, and all of Song laughed at him. Han Feizi used it to mock rulers who copy the methods of the past. Meaning: waiting passively for luck, or clinging to one lucky experience. Critical.

• 兔不可复得，而身为宋国笑。No more hares came, and he became the laughing stock of Song.
• 找工作要主动，不能守株待兔。When job hunting, be active: don't just wait for luck.

塞翁失马 (sài wēng shī mǎ): the old man at the frontier loses his horse

From 《淮南子》. A man living near the frontier lost his horse, which ran off to the nomads' land. When neighbours consoled him he said: "Who knows if this isn't good fortune?" Months later the horse came back leading fine nomad horses. Neighbours congratulated him: "Who knows if this isn't a disaster?" His son, who loved riding, fell and broke his leg. Again the father said it might be fortune. A year later the nomads invaded; the able-bodied men went to war and most died, but the lame son stayed home, and father and son both survived. The saying built on the story, 塞翁失马，焉知非福, is later than 《淮南子》 itself.

• 塞翁失马，焉知非福。The old man lost his horse, but who knows if it isn't a blessing?
• 这次没考上也许是塞翁失马，你可以好好准备一年。Failing this time may be a blessing in disguise: you can prepare properly for a year.

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín): playing the zither to an ox

Told in 《牟子理惑论》 (Eastern Han): the musician 公明仪 played a refined tune to an ox, which went on grazing. It wasn't that the ox couldn't hear; the music didn't suit its ears. When he played sounds like buzzing mosquitoes and a lost calf, the ox flicked its tail and listened. Meaning: talking to the wrong audience. It now usually blames the listener.

• 跟他讲艺术简直是对牛弹琴。Talking art with him is like playing music to an ox.

Chengyu act as predicates or attributes: 这样做是画蛇添足, 守株待兔的做法. They suit writing and considered speech.

Common mistakes

• 他工作认真，总是画蛇添足，老板很满意。 画蛇添足 is never praise: it means the extra was harmful.
• 他守株待兔地练习，终于成功了。 守株待兔 is passive waiting, not patience. Say 坚持不懈 (keep at it).
• 我丢了钱包，真是塞翁失马，倒霉透了！ 塞翁失马 points to a hidden good side, not to pure bad luck.
• 守珠待兔 → 守株待兔. 株 is a tree stump; 珠 is a pearl. Also 画蛇填足 → 画蛇添足.
• Saying 对牛弹琴 to someone's face calls them an ox. Used about yourself it's self-mockery; about the listener it's rude.