邯鄲學步 (Hán dān xué bù)
(1) to copy the way they walk in Handan (idiom)
(2) slavishly copying others, one risks becoming a caricature
Legend has it that two thousand years ago there was a young man from Shou Ling (壽陵) in the State of Yan; his real name was unknown, so people called him the Young Man of Shou Ling.
This young man from Shou Ling (壽陵) did not have to worry about food nor clothes [e.g. he was fairly well off], was considered above average in terms of looks, but he lacked self-confidence and often felt, for no cause nor reason at all, that he was inferior to others in all aspects: other people’s clothes were better, other people’s rice dishes were more fragrant, other people’s stance and sitting posture were more elegant. Whatever he saw, he learned; yet whatever he learned, he unlearned [after seeing more new things from other people]. Although he copied these different ways of doing things, in the end he could never do any one thing well, and did not know what his personal style should be like.
His family advised him to improve on this shortcomings, but he thought that his family was being overly controlling. Relatives and neighbors said he was a black bear taking corncobs, but he did not listen [to them] at all. As time went on, he unexpectedly doubted whether he should walk [in the manner] as he had always done, and the more he looked, the more he felt that his walking posture was too clumsy and ugly.
[Note: Black bear taking corncobs story.
A black bear went into a cornfield, broke off a corncob and put it under his armpit; he then took a few steps and broke off another corncob, then put this under his armpit, but the original corncob was dropped [and lost]. The black bear was busily working in the cornfield for half a day, but in the end he only had one or two corncobs in his hands [to show for].
Source is from https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/93120816.html]
One day, he ran into a few people on the road joking and laughing along, and could only hear someone said that people from Handan had beautiful walking gait. As soon as he heard it, he rushed forward intending to [continue listening and] find out more [about this]. Unexpectedly, when those people saw him, they bursted out laughing and scattered away.
How beautiful was the walking gait of the people from Handan after all? He couldn’t even imagine this, and it became his [sole] obsession. Finally one day, keeping it a secret from his family, he traveled to faraway Handan to learn how to walk.
Once he arrived in Handan, he felt everything and everywhere was novel and new, simply leaving one bedazzled. When he saw children walking, he felt vivacious, so he learned from them; when he saw old men walking, he felt steady, so he learned from them; when he saw women walking, swaying from one side to the other, he also learned this from them. In this way, within half a month, he couldn’t even walk; and having spent all of his traveling funds, he had to crawl back on his return trip [e.g. he forgot how to walk properly, and with no money left to rent a cart, crawling was the only way he knew how to travel from one place to another].
This story originated from “Zhuangzi – Qiushui (秋水, e.g. Autumn Water)”. The idiom “Learning to walk in Handan” is a metaphor for immitating others mechanically. In this way, not only will you fail to learn [from] other people’s strengths, but you will also lose your own strengths and skills.
From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=714
“Zhuangzi – Qiushui (秋水, e.g. Autumn Water)” contains a dialogue between Gongsun Long from the School of Names and Lord Wei Mou (公子魏牟) from the State of Wei. Gongsun Long considered himself to be well-informed, knowledgeable, and a great debater. However, when he heard Zhuangzi‘s arguments, he felt confused and could not understand them, so he asked Wei Mou if it was because he was not knowledgeable enough? Wei Mou thought Gongsun Long was like a frog [sitting] at the bottom of a well, having shallow knowledge and narrow vision, so that he could not understand the subtleties of Zhuangzi’s arguments. Even if he was to put in the effort to study, he would only be able to scratch the surface of the matters. So that he advised Gongsun Long to not attempt to understand further, lest in the end, not only would he not be able to learn Zhuangzi’s teaching, but also lose his [own] original knowledge [thoughts]. This would then be like that young man from the State of Yan in the Warring States Period who admired the walking trait of people from Handan, the capital of Zhao, and went there to learn from them. As a result, not only did he fail to learn the walking gait of the people from Handan, he even forgot his own way of walking, and in the end he had to crawl back [home]. Later, the idiom “Learning To Walk In Handan” evolved from this story, and is used to describe unsuccessful imitations, wherein one also lost his original traits [while attempting to do the imitation].
—– VOCABULARY —–
邯鄲 Hán dān – old capital of State of Zhao
啥 shà – dialectal equivalent of 什麼|什么[shen2 me5] [[xá: gì, nấy, nào, cũng như “thậm ma” 甚麼]]
穿 chuān – to wear; to put on; to dress; to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to penetrate; to pass through; to thread [[xuyên: suốt, xâu qua, đi qua, lách, luồn; mặc, mang, đi; đào, khoét; rách, lủng; thấu suốt, rõ ràng]]
長相 zhǎng xiàng – appearance; looks; profile; countenance
缺乏 quē fá – to lack; to be short of; lack; shortage
缺 quē – deficiency; lack; scarce; vacant post; to run short of [[khuyết: sứt mẻ, vỡ lở; chỗ thiếu sót, chỗ không hoàn hảo; chỗ trống (chỉ chức vụ); thiếu, không đủ; suy vi, suy nhược; để trống, vắng, để thiếu sót]]
乏 fá – short of; tired [[phạp: thiếu, không đủ; không có; mỏi mệt; nghèo khốn]]
無緣無故 wú yuán wú gù – no cause, no reason (idiom); completely uncalled for
無緣 wú yuán – to have no opportunity; no way (of doing sth); no chance; no connection; not placed (in a competition)
緣 yuán – cause; reason; karma; fate; predestined affinity; margin; hem; edge; along [[duyên: đường viền áo quần; rìa, cạnh; cơ hội; nhà Phật cho rằng vì “nhân” mà được “quả” là “duyên”; lí do, nguyên cớ; leo; quấn quanh; men theo]]
站 zhàn – station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website [[trạm: đứng; chỗ giữa đường tạm trú hoặc chỗ hoán chuyển giao thông; cơ quan tổ chức dùng để liên lạc, đơn vị nhỏ đặt ra cho một dịch vụ nào đó]]
丟 diū – to lose; to put aside; to throw [[đâu: mất hẳn, đi không trở lại nữa; ném đi, quăng; đưa, liếc]]
花樣 huā yàng – pattern; way of doing sth; trick; (sports) fancy-style (as figure skating etc)
翻新 fān xīn – to revamp; a face-lift; to retread (a tire); to refurbish (old clothes); newly emerging
翻 fān – to turn over; to flilp over; to overturn; to rummage through; to translate; to decode; to double; to climb over or into; to cross [[phiên: lật, trở mình, đổ; giở, lật qua; lật lại; vượt qua; dịch, chuyển từ tiếng này sang tiếng khác; bay liệng; biểu hiện sự tương phản – lại, thì lại, trái lại]]
模樣 mú yàng – look; style; appearance; approximation; about
模 mú – mold; die; matrix; pattern [[mô: khuôn mẫu; “Mô dạng” 模樣 hình dạng, dáng điệu; bắt chước, phỏng theo]]
毛病 máo bìng – fault; defect; shortcomings; ailment
親戚 qīn qi – a relative (i.e. family relation)
戚 qī – relative; parent; grief; sorrow; battle-axe [[thích: thân thuộc; cái “thích”, một loại khí giới ngày xưa, tức là “phủ” 斧 cái búa, cũng dùng để múa; buồn rầu, bi ai; thân gần; giận dữ, phẫn nộ]]
狗熊 gǒu xióng – black bear; coward
掰 bāi – to break off or break open sth with one’s hands; (fig.) to break off (a relationship) [[phách: như 擘, tách, bửa ra, xẻ ra; tỉ dụ người tài giỏi, ưu tú đặc biệt]]
棒子 bàng zi – stick; club; cudgel; maize (corn); ear of maize; corncob
棒 bàng – stick, club, cudgel; smart, capable; strong; wonderful; classifier for legs of a relay race [[bổng: gậy, đòn, que…; bắp ngô; người tiếp tục hoặc thay thế (trách nhiệm, công việc, …); lượng từ – đoạn, chặng, đợt; đánh bằng gậy; tài, giỏi, cừ; cứng, dắn, dai; mạnh khỏe, kiện tráng]]
奉 fèng – to offer (tribute); to present respectfully (to superior, ancestor, deity etc); to esteem; to revere; to believe in (a religion); to wait upon; to accept orders (from superior) [[phụng: dâng lên (người bề trên); kính biếu, hiến; kính vâng, kính nhận (mệnh ý của người trên); hầu hạ; tôn, suy tôn; tin thờ, tín ngưỡng; cúng tế; theo, hùa; dùng làm kính từ; một âm là “bổng”: lương bổng của quan lại]]
進去 jìn qù – to go in
竟 jìng – unexpectedly; actually; to go so far as to; indeed [[cánh: trọn, suốt; truy cứu, đến cùng tột; hoàn thành, hoàn tất, xong; cuối cùng, rốt cuộc; mà, lại; trực tiếp, thẳng]]
進去 jìn qù – to go in
姿勢 zī shì – posture; position [[tư thế, dáng điệu]]
姿 zī – beauty; disposition; looks; appearance [[tư: dáng dấp, dung mạo; tính chất trời phú cho, cũng như “tư” 資]]
笨 bèn – stupid; foolish; silly; slow-witted; clumsy [[bổn: ngu dốt, đần độn, tối dạ; chậm chạp, vụng về; nặng nề, cồng kềnh]]
醜 chǒu – shameful; ugly; disgraceful [[xú: xấu, khó coi (tướng mạo); xấu xa, không tốt; nhơ nhuốc, ô uế; ghét; xấu hổ, hổ thẹn; giống như, cùng loại]]
碰 pèng – to touch; to meet with; to bump [[bính: va, chạm, đụng, cụng, chọi; gặp (bất ngờ); thử; gây ra, rước lấy]]
急忙 jí máng – hastily [[vội vàng, hấp tấp]]
打聽 dǎ tīng – to ask about; to make some inquiries; to ask around [[dò hỏi, thăm dò, nghe ngóng]]
一陣 yī zhèn – a burst; a fit; a peal; a spell (period of time)
揚 yáng – to raise; to hoist; the action of tossing or winnowing; scattering (in the wind); to flutter; to propagate [[dương: giơ lên, bốc lên; phô bày; khen, xưng tụng; truyền bá, lan ra; vênh vang, đắc ý]]
究竟 jiū jìng – to go to the bottom of a matter; after all; when all is said and done; (in an interrogative sentence) finally; outcome; result [[kết quả, rút cục]]
瞞 mán – to conceal from; to keep (sb) in the dark [[man: dối, lừa, giấu giếm; đệm, lót, chêm vào; men theo, thuận theo; không bắt mắt, không được chú trọng; dáng nhắm mắt, lim dim]]
遙遠 yáo yuǎn – distant; remote
新鮮 xīn xiān – fresh (experience, food, etc); freshness; novel; uncommon
鮮 xiān – fresh; bright (in color); delicious; tasty; delicacy; aquatic foods [[tiên: cá tươi, cá sống; phiếm chỉ món ăn tươi, ngon, quý, hiếm; ngon ngọt; tươi, non; tươi đẹp, rực rỡ; mới lạ, thú vị, hay ho]]
簡直 jiǎn zhí – simply; at all; practically
眼花繚亂 yǎn huā liáo luàn – to be dazzled
繚 liáo – to wind around; to sew with slanting stitches [[liễu: quấn, vòng; viền, đính, vắt (may vá); rối loạn, rối tung; tường bao quanh]]
小孩 xiǎo hái – child [[đứa bé, đứa trẻ, bé con]]
活潑 huó pō – lively; vivacious; brisk; active [[hoạt bát, sôi nổi, hoạt động]]
潑 pō – to splash; to spill; rough and coarse; brutish [[bát: vọt ra, bắn ra ngoài, vẩy (nói về nước, chất lỏng); ngang ngược, hung tợn]]
穩重 wěn zhòng – steady; earnest; staid
穩 wěn – settled; steady; stable [[ổn: yên định, an toàn; thỏa đáng, thỏa thiếp; cẩn thận, thận trọng; xếp đặt, đặt để, an bài; nhất định, chắc chắn]]
㥯 yǐn – cautious [[cẩn thận, thận trọng]]
搖擺 yáo bǎi – to sway; to wobble; to waver [[lúc lắc, ve vẩy, vẫy]]
搖 yáo – to shake; to rock; to row; to crank [[diêu: lay động, lắc, rung, xua, vẫy; quấy nhiễu]]
擺 bǎi – to arrange; to exhibit; to move to and fro; a pendulum [[bãi: bày, sắp đặt; lay, lắc, dao động; lên mặt, vênh mặt; hãm hại]]
罷 bà – to stop; to cease; to dismiss; to suspend; to quit; to finish [[bãi: nghỉ, thôi; cách, bỏ, phế trừ; hết, chấm dứt; xong, rồi; thôi, nhé…]]
爬 pá – to crawl; to climb; to get up or sit up [[ba: bò; leo, trèo, vin; nép, nằm ép mình xuống; gãi, cào; đào lên, móc ra, bới ra]]
搬 bān – to move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately [[ban: trừ hết, dọn sạch; khuân, bưng; dời đi; diễn lại, rập theo; xúi giục]]
般 bān – sort; kind; class; way; manner [[ban: đem về, trở lại; bực, loại, hàng, lớp, kiểu; giốngnhư, đồng dạng; bàn: quanh co, quấn quýt; tải đi; vui, thích; lớn]]
硬 yìng – hard; stiff; strong; firm; resolutely; doggedly; good (quality); able (person) [[ngạnh: cứng, dắn; cứng cỏi, cương kiện; bướng bỉnh, ương ngạnh; không lưu loát, thiếu tự nhiên, trúc trắc; tốt, giỏi, luyện]]
套 tào – to cover; to encase; cover; sheath; to overlap; to interleave; to model after; to copy; formula; harness; loop of rope; (fig.) to fish for; to obtain slyly; classifier for sets, collections; bend (of a river or mountain range, in place names) [[sáo: bao, bọc, túi; dây thắng (xe, ngựa, v.v.); kiểu, thói, cách; khuôn khổ, lề lối có sẵn; chỗ đất hay sông uốn cong; lượng từ – bộ, tổ, hồi; trùm, mặc ngoài; lồng, nối ghép; mô phỏng, bắt chước; lôi kéo; nhử, lừa, đua vào tròng; buộc, đóng (xe, ngựa, v.v.)]]
機械 jī xiè – machine; machinery; mechanical; (old) cunning; scheming [[cơ giới, máy móc, cơ khí]]
械 xiè – appliance; tool; weapon; shackles [[giới: binh khí, vũ khí; thuật khéo, xảo trá; đồ dùng, dụng cụ]]
長處 cháng chù – good aspects; strong points
模仿 mó fǎng – to imitate; to copy; to emulate; to mimic; model [[mô phỏng, bắt chước, làm theo]]
模 mó – to imitate; model; norm; pattern [[mô: khuôn mẫu; hình dạng, dáng điệu; bắt chước, phỏng theo; không rõ ràng]]
莫 mò – do not; there is none who [[mạc: tuyệt không, chẳng ai; chớ, đừng; không thể, không được; quy định; mộ: chiều, tối; một loại rau; muộn, cuối]]
仿 fǎng – seemingly [[phảng: giống, tựa như; phỏng: bắt chước]]
丟掉 diū diào – to lose; to throw away; to discard; to cast away [[ném, quăng]]
牟 móu – barley; to moo; to seek or obtain [[mưu: cướp, lấy, như “mưu lợi” 牟利 trục lợi; ngang, bằng, thông 侔; lúa mạch to, thông 麰; to, lớn]]
博 bó – extensive; ample; rich; obtain; aim; to win; to get; plentiful; to gamble [[bác: rộng, lớn, nhiều, phong phú; thông suốt, sâu rộng (kiến thức); đánh bạc; lấy, đổi lấy, giành được]]
辯 biàn – to dispute; to debate; to argue; to discuss [[biện: lí luận, tranh luận; phân biệt; biến hóa; giỏi biện thuyết; lời khéo léo giả dối, xảo ngôn; tên một thể văn]]
言論 yán lùn – expression of opinion; views; remarks; arguments
則 zé – (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then; standard; norm; principle; to imitate; to follow; classifier for written items [[tắc: khuôn phép; gương mẫu; đơn vị trong văn từ – đoạn, mục, điều, tiết; noi theo, học theo; thì, liền ngay; thì là, thì; lại, nhưng lại; chỉ; nếu; dù, dù rằng; là, chính là]]
困惑 kùn huò – bewildered; perplexed; confused; difficult problem; perplexity [[bối rối, hoang mang, lúng túng]]
惑 huò – to confuse; to be puzzled [[hoặc: ngờ, hoài nghi; mê loạn, say mê, dối gạt; mê lầm]]
井底之蛙 jǐng dǐ zhī wā – the frog at the bottom of the well (idiom); fig. a person of limited outlook and experience
蛙 wā – frog [[oa: ếch, nhái]]
淺薄 qiǎn bó – superficial
淺 qiǎn – shallow; light (color) [[thiển: nông, cạn (nước không sâu; chật, nhỏ, hẹp; ngắn, không lâu, mới; không thâm hậu; không được tinh thâm, còn ít, còn kém, dễ hiểu; nhạt, loãng]]
薄 bó – meager; slight; weak; ungenerous or unkind; frivolous; to despise; to belittle; to look down on; to approach or near [[bạc: chỗ cây cỏ mọc rậm rạp; cái diềm, cái rèm; mỏng; nhạt, sơ sài; xấu, không phì nhiêu; mỏng mảnh, không may; thưa; kém, ít, mọn; không tôn trọng; nghiệt, không đôn hậu; giảm bớt, giảm tổn; coi khinh; gần sát]]
溥 pǔ – extensive; pervading [[phổ: rộng lớn; khắp, phổ biến]]
尃 fū – to state to; to announce [[tản ra, tán bố, thông “phu” 敷]]
狹小 xiá xiǎo – narrow
狹 xiá – narrow; narrow-minded [[hiệp: hẹp (trái lại với rộng); ít, nhỏ]]
就算 jiù suàn – granted that; even if
通曉 tōng xiǎo – proficient (in sth); to understand sth through and through
曉 xiǎo – dawn; daybreak; to know; to let sb know; to make explicit [[hiểu: sớm; biết, rõ, hiểu rõ; bảo cho biết]]
玄妙 xuán miào – mysterious; profound; abstruse
玄 xuán – black; mysterious [[huyền: màu đen đậm; trời; đen; ảo diệu, sâu xa; hư ngụy, không đáng tin]]
妙 miào – clever; wonderful [[diệu: tốt, hay, đẹp; khéo léo, tinh xảo, mầu nhiệm, thần kì; non, trẻ; sự lí sâu xa, huyền nhiệm]]
就算 jiù suàn – granted that; even if
花 huā – flower; blossom; fancy pattern; florid; to spend (money, time) [[hoa: hoa của cây cỏ; phiếm chỉ cây cỏ có thể nở ra hoa; vật thể có hình giống hoa; tỉ dụ người đẹp, mĩ nữ; chỉ trẻ con, tiểu hài; chỉ vật non, nhỏ; nốt đậu; nhà trò, con hát, kĩ nữ; pháo bông; hao phí]]
皮毛 pí máo – fur; fur clothing; skin and hair; superficial; superficial knowledge
試圖 shì tú – to attempt; to try
試 shì – to test; to try; experiment; examination; test [[thí: thử; thi, so sánh, khảo nghiệm; dùng; dò thử]]
圖 tú – diagram; picture; drawing; chart; map; to plan; to scheme; to attempt; to pursue; to seek [[đồ: tranh vẽ; cương vực, lãnh thổ; ý muốn, tham vọng; vẽ, hội họa; toan mưu, suy tính; nắm lấy, chiếm lấy]]
理解 lǐ jiě – to comprehend; to understand; comprehension; understanding [[lý giải, giải thích]]
喪失 sàng shī – to lose; to forfeit
喪 sàng – to lose sth abstract but important (courage, authority, one’s life etc); to be bereaved of (one’s spouse etc); to die; disappointed; discouraged [[táng: mất, đánh mất; tiêu phí, hao phí; quên, quên mất; đau buồn, ưu thương; sầm mặt, xịu mặt (thần thái bất mãn, vẻ mặt không vui); chết; thất bại, hủy diệt]]
羨慕 xiàn mù – to envy; to admire
羨 xiàn – to envy [[tiện: tham muốn, ham thích; vượt hơn, siêu quá; mất, táng thất; dư thừa, đầy, phong dụ; chỗ thừa, thặng dư]]
慕 mù – to admire [[mộ: nhớ, nghĩ; yêu, mến; đòi khóc, kêu khóc (như trẻ con quấn quýt theo cha mẹ); bắt chước, mô phỏng; tổng quát, đại khái]]
前往 qián wǎng – to leave for; to proceed towards; to go
自我 zì wǒ – self-; ego (psychology)