按圖索驥 (àn tú suǒ jì ) |
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During the Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū 春秋時期,770-476 BC), there was a man in the State of Qin whose name was Sun Yang (sūn yáng 孫陽). Sun Yang was very expert in looking at horses and judging their worth. People called him Bo Le (Bo Le was the name of one of the celestial bodies and was fabled to be in charge of heavenly steeds), and he was often asked to appraise and select horses. Sun Yang worte a book entitled The Art of Looking at Horses and Judging Their Worth, based on his experiences and knowledge accumulated over the years. The book was also illustrated with the pictures of various horses. Sun Yang had a son who thought it was very esay to appraise horses according to the book. So he took it with him to look for fine horses. He found the characteristics of a toad fit very well the characteristics described in the book. So he happily took the toad back home, Sun Yang did not know whether he should laugh or cry. "That is just what we call looking for a steed with the aid of its picture."Later, people have used the set phrase "look for a steed with the aid of its picture" to refer to handling affairs mechanically in the outmoded ways without being flexible. Sometimes it is also used to refer to trying to locate something by following up a clue. 春秋時,秦國有個名叫孫陽的人,善于鑒別馬的好壞,他把自己識馬的經驗寫成書,名為《相馬經》。這本書圖文并茂地介紹了各類好馬,所以人們把孫陽叫“伯樂”。 按圖索驥 (àn tú suǒ jì )
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