以貌取人 (Yǐ mào qǔ rén)
To judge sb by appearances (idiom)
From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=-1347&webMd=2&la=0
Records of the Grand Historian – Biography of Kongzi mentioned that Kongzi had three thousand students, among whom there were seventy two who were proficient in rites, music, archery, horseback riding, and calligraphy. The names and deeds of these seventy plus men were recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian – Biographies of Zhongni‘s Students. Furthermore, one can also see records of Kongzi’s students in some documents that are closely related to Confucianism such as Ritual Records of Dai the Elder, Family Sayings of Confucius (孔子家語), and even the pre-Qin Legalist‘s Han Feizi, although the contents may differ from one document to another.
For example, in Biographies of Zhongni’s Students, it is recorded that: Dantai Mieming (澹臺滅明), courtesy name Ziyu (子羽), had an unsightly appearance (狀貌甚惡), so when he wanted to accompany and study under Kongzi, the latter judged him by his appearance and deemed him to be inadequate in both aptitude and talent. However, after accompanying Kongzi, he [fully] devoted himself to self-cultivation and practicing the way of Confucianism.
Later, Dantai Mieming went south to propagate the teaching of Confucianism, where he had over three hundred disciples and his reputation reached all the vassal states. When Confucius learned of this, he said: “When I used eloquence to measure men, I missed out on Zaiyu; when I used appearance to measure men, I missed out on Ziyu.” (吾以言取人，失之宰予；以貌取人，失之子羽。).
This story was found in the earlier text “Han Feizi – Eminence in Learning (韓非子．顯學)”, Dantai Mieming was gentlemanly in conduct, but only after interacting with him for sometime would one realize that his character did not match his appearance. Zaiyu, on the other hand, was a man of extraordinary eloquence, but only after interacting with him for sometime would one realize that his wisdom did not match his eloquence. As such Kongzi exclaimed: “In using appearance to judge men, we’d misjudge Ziyu; in using eloquence to judge men, we’d misjudge Zaiyu (以容取人乎，失之子羽；以言取人乎，失之宰予).”
Although the Records of the Grand Historian and Han Feizi contained different accounts about Dantai Mieming, in the end Kongzi had the same conclusion about the man: if we judge a person’s character and talent by his appearance, then we’d misjudge him just as I had done with Ziyu; on the other hand if we use eloquence to measure a person’s wisdom, then we’d misjudge him just as I had done with Zaiyu. Later, the idiom “Judging a person by his appearance” evolved from this story, and is used to refer to using one’s appearance in judging and selecting talents.
—– VOCABULARY —–
通曉 tōng xiǎo – proficient (in sth); to understand sth through and through
蹟, 跡 jì – footprint, mark, trace, vestige, sign, indication [[tích: vết chân; ngấn, dấu vết; sự vật, công nghiệp tiền nhân lưu lại; khảo sát, tham cứu; mô phỏng, làm theo]]
戴 dài – to put on or wear (glasses, hat, gloves etc); to respect; to bear; to support [[đái: đội, đeo; tôn kính, quý trọng]]
甚至 shèn zhì – even; so much so that
澹 dàn – tranquil; placid; quiet [[đạm: lững lờ, nhấp nhô (dáng sóng nước dao động); trầm tĩnh, ít ham muốn; yên tĩnh, lặng lẽ; nhạt; không nồng; tiêu trừ]]
臺 tái – platform; stage; terrace; stand; support; station; broadcasting station; classifier for vehicles or machines [[đài: đài, kiến trúc cao có thể nhìn ra bốn phía; chỉ chung chỗ cao rộng để biểu diễn, hoạt động; bệ, bục (để đặt đồ vật lên trên); tên sở quan ngày xưa, cũng chỉ quan chức trông coi nơi đó; tên gọi cơ cấu, cơ sở; chữ dùng để tôn xưng; lượng từ – vở (kịch), cỗ máy, v.v.]]
判斷 pàn duàn – to judge; to determine; judgment [[phán đoán, xét đoán]]
致力 zhì lì – to work for; to devote one’s efforts to
實踐 shí jiàn – practice; to put into practice; to live up to (a promise); to carry out (a project) [[thực tiễn, thực tế]]
闡揚 chǎn yáng – to expound; to propagate
闡 chǎn – to express; to disclose; to enlighten; to open [[xiển: mở rộng, khoách đại; làm cho thấy rõ, hiển lộ; mở ra]]
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; tiến cử; khích động; sảy, rẽ (trừ bỏ trấu, vỏ của ngũ cốc); vênh vang, đắc ý]]
較 jiào – to compare; to dispute; compared to; (before adj.) relatively; comparatively; rather [[giác: cái tay xe, hai bên chỗ tựa xe có cái gỗ đặt ngang bắt khum về phía trước; ganh đua; giếu, giảo: so sánh; khái lược, đại khái; hiệu số; khá, tương đối; rõ rệt, rành rành]]
儀表 yí biǎo – appearance; bearing; meter (i.e. measuring instrument)
相稱 xiāng chèn – to match; to suit; mutually compatible
談吐 tán tǔ – style of conversation
衡量 héng liáng – to weigh; to examine; to consider
標準 biāo zhǔn – (an official) standard; norm; criterion
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; sự xấu xa, việc không vinh dự; người xấu xa, đê tiện; hậu môn, lỗ đít động vật]]
截然 jié rán – completely; sharply (differing) [[hoàn toàn, trọn vẹn]]
截 jié – to cut off (a length); to stop; to intercept; section; chunk; length [[tiệt: cắt đứt; ngăn, chặn; lượng từ – đoạn, khúc, quãng; rành rẽ, rõ ràng]]
醜八怪 chǒu bā guài – ugly person
冷淡 lěng dàn – cold; indifferent [[lãnh đạm, thờ ơ, làm ngơ]]
淡 dàn – insipid; diluted; weak; mild; light in color; tasteless; fresh; indifferent; nitrogen [[đạm: vị không mặn; không đậm đặc, không nồng, thưa thớt; nhạt (màu sắc); lạnh nhạt, thờ ơ; không thịnh vượng; sơ, không dày đậm; câu nói vô duyên, vô tích sự (tiếng địa phương, bắc TQ)]]
退學 tuì xué – to quit school
鑽研 zuān yán – to study meticuluously; to delve into
儀表 yí biǎo – appearance; bearing; meter (i.e. measuring instrument)
出息 chū xī – to yield interest, profit etc.; to exhale (Buddhism); future prospects; profit; to mature; to grow up
思考 sī kǎo – to reflect on; to ponder over [[suy nghĩ, ngẫm nghĩ, nghiền ngẫm]]
發奮 fā fèn – to make an effort; to push for sth; to work hard
慕名 mù míng – to admire sb’s reputation; to seek out famous person or location
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]]
懶惰 lǎn duò – idle; lazy [[lười biếng, lười nhác]]
懶 lǎn – lazy [[lãn: lười biếng; đạm bạc; rã rời, bải hoải; biếng nhác; không muốn, không thích]]
惰 duò – lazy [[nọa: lười biếng; uể oải, mệt mỏi]]
儘管 jǐn guǎn – despite; although; even though; in spite of; unhesitatingly; do not hesitate (to ask, complain etc); (go ahead and do it) without hesitating [[mặc dầu, mặc dù]]
儘 jǐn – to the greatest extent; (when used before a noun of location) furthest or extreme; to be within the limits of; to give priority to [[tẫn: mặc dù, dù cho; hết tiệt, cùng cực; cứ, cứ việc; tùy ý, mặc ý, không hạn chế; cả, đều, tất cả, toàn]]
勸導 quàn dǎo – to advise; to attempt to convince [[khuyên bảo, chỉ bảo]]
睡懶覺 shuì lǎn jiào – to sleep in
朽木 xiǔ mù – rotten wood
朽 xiǔ – rotten [[hủ: mục nát, hủy hoại; tiêu mòn, mai một; mục, thối, nát; già yếu, suy nhược]]
訊 xùn – to question; to ask; to interrogate; rapid; speedy; fast; news; information [[tấn: hỏi, kẻ trên hỏi kẻ dưới; hỏi thăm; tra hỏi, thẩm vấn; trách hỏi; can; nhường; mách bảo, báo cho biết; mưu; tin tức, tiêu tức]]
憑 píng – to lean against; to rely on; on the basis of; no matter (how, what etc); proof [[bằng: nương, tựa; nhờ cậy; bằng cứ]]