东施效颦
- Literal
- dongshi imitates the knitted brow
- Figurative
- To imitate someone admirable clumsily and blindly, without grasping what makes them appealing, ending up looking ridiculous or even worse than before.
Where does 东施效颦 come from?
Xi Shi, one of the great beauties of the ancient state of Yue, suffered from chest pains, and whenever they struck she would knit her brow and press a hand to her heart. That pained gesture only made her seem more beautiful to her neighbors. An ugly woman from the same village, whom later tradition named Dong Shi, saw how admired Xi Shi was and assumed the secret lay in the gesture, so she went about frowning and clutching her chest in imitation. But since she was plain, the effect was so dreadful that the rich shut their doors tight and the poor fled with their wives and children at the sight of her. The parable, recorded in the Zhuangzi, mocks blind imitation that fails to grasp what it is copying.
Source (出处): 《庄子·天运》
How is 东施效颦 used? Two examples
- 别人怎么穿你就怎么穿，这样东施效颦只会显得很可笑。
Dressing exactly like everyone else just because they do is mindless imitation that only makes you look ridiculous.
- 我们要学他的优点，而不是东施效颦地照搬他的缺点。
We should learn from his strengths, not clumsily copy his flaws as well.
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