Who's at Fault for Talking to a Cow?- Wise Idioms - Mind Growth Pocket Book

Author: Chen Peng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Follow the clues to seek the truth. In the Spring and Autumn Period of Qin, there was a man named Sun Yang who was exceptionally skilled at identifying the quality of horses. No matter what kind of horse, he could accurately distinguish between good and bad ones, so people respectfully called him Bo Le ("Bo Le" was the divine being in heaven responsible for managing celestial horses, with a position equivalent to that of Sun Wukong's former title, "Bima Wen"). Based on his years of experience, Sun Yang wrote a book titled The Art of Horse Identification, which specifically explained how to identify horses and distinguish the legendary "thousand-li horse." Sun Yang had a foolish son who took his father's The Art of Horse Identification to seek a thousand-li horse. The book stated: "A thousand-li horse has a high forehead, large and spirited eyes, and round and sturdy hooves." His foolish son spotted a toad with a high forehead, large and bulging eyes, and a very spirited demeanor. He happily thought, "It's almost the same as what's written in the book—this must be a thousand-li horse!" He showed the toad to his father and said, "Dad, I've found a thousand-li horse, but its hooves aren't very sturdy." Sun Yang looked at it and couldn't help but laugh or cry, but he couldn't scold his foolish son either. So, he humorously said, "Unfortunately, this horse loves to jump too much and can't be used to pull a cart!" This idiom is used to describe someone who approaches things rigidly and inflexibly, or to seek something by following a certain clue.
Reflection: This story is truly amusing—someone actually mistook a toad for a horse! Why did Sun Yang's son make such a fool of himself? Because he was foolish, of course! But what exactly was he foolish about? Let's take another look at what The Art of Horse Identification said: "A thousand-li horse has eyes and hooves." Pay attention! Anything with these features must first and foremost be a horse. However, the foolish son completely missed this crucial point and only focused on the features: high forehead, large eyes, and big feet. Well, if that's the case, how many "thousand-li horses" would there be in the world?
Following the clues means acting based on the experience and principles one has mastered. These experiences and principles can help us quickly familiarize ourselves with things we haven't encountered before so that we can better understand them. However, things are always changing, and even the same situation can be viewed differently by each person. How can we make use of book knowledge without making the mistake of rigidly applying it? First, we must grasp the key aspects of a thing and never, like the foolish son, go looking for a thousand-li horse without even knowing what a horse is. Second, when applying book knowledge in practice, we must constantly compare it with the facts and make timely adjustments to anything that doesn't align with reality. This is exactly what teachers often emphasize as "learning and applying with flexibility."
Don't want to be a "bookworm"? Well, let's try this method! P2-4