Story: A man from Chu State put pearls in a wooden box and went to Zheng State to sell them. A Zhengguo man thought the box was beautiful, so he bought the wooden box and returned the pearls to the seller.

Meaning: Points out that someone makes inappropriate choices and cannot distinguish between priorities. (Ironic)

Source: "Han Feizi·Wai Chu Shuo Upper Left" extended information

Buy a coffin and return a pearl

Pronunciation: mǎi dú huán zhū?< /p>

Meaning: It is a metaphor for improper choice, grasping the secondary and losing the important. 椟(dú): wooden box.

Quote: Song Dynasty Cheng Yi's "Collecting Handwriting with Fang Yuan": "There are many people who treat classics today; however, everyone is buying a coffin and returning it to a pearl."

< p>Example: When reading a book, you must absorb the essence. Don't do stupid things like buying a casket for a pearl.

Synonyms:

Abandon the original and pursue the inferior? [ shě běn zhú mò ] It is also said to abandon the fundamental and pursue the inferior. Give up what is fundamental and important and pursue what is trivial and secondary. Describe the inversion of weight and weight.

Source: "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals·Shang Nong": "If the people's homes are based on the basics but things are not done, they will not be ordered; if they are not ordered, they cannot be defended; they cannot be fought. If the people's homes are based on the basics but things are not done, then their property contracts will be ; If the property is contracted, the migration will be light; if the migration is light, the country will be in trouble; all have Polygala ambitions; no intention."

Antonyms:

Remove the rough and extract the essence? [qù cū qǔ jīng] Remove the rough. The useless and useless, leaving the essence and useful.

Source: Mao Zedong's "On Practice": "The rich sensory materials are subjected to the transformation and production process of removing the rough and selecting the essence, removing the false and retaining the true, from here to there, from the outside to the inside.

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