Chinese idiom-画蛇添足 huà shé tiān zú

The story of “Drawing a Snake and Adding Feet” originates from ancient China and is a philosophical fable.

The Story

In ancient times, there was an official in charge of sacrificial rites. After a spring sacrifice, he took out the wine used for the sacrifice to give to his subordinates. Upon hearing that there was wine to drink, the subordinates were all overjoyed. However, there was only one large cup of wine, which was not enough for everyone to drink. What should they do? The subordinates came up with an idea: to have a competition to draw snakes. Whoever finished drawing a snake first would get to drink the wine.

So, everyone began to draw snakes. Among them, one person finished drawing first and grabbed the cup of wine. Just as he was about to drink, he saw that the others were still crawling on the ground drawing snakes. Feeling very proud, he held the cup in his left hand and used his right hand to add feet to the snake he had drawn. He thought that this would show off his skill and make the others admire him even more. However, before he could finish drawing one foot, another person had already finished drawing his snake and snatched the cup of wine from him. “Snakes don’t have feet,” the other person said. “Why did you draw feet on your snake?” After saying this, he drank the wine in one gulp. And the person who had first finished drawing the snake, because of his foolishness and adding feet to the snake, ultimately failed to drink the wine.

This story teaches us that sometimes doing something extra is not only unnecessary but also inappropriate. Just like adding feet to a snake, which is already complete, making unnecessary moves can lead to losing what was originally achieved. It reminds us to do things just right and not go overboard, lest we achieve the opposite of what we intended.

In addition, the idiom “Drawing a Snake and Adding Feet” can also be used metaphorically to describe inventing facts or making things up. It reminds us to be truthful and objective when expressing our opinions or conveying information, and not to exaggerate or fabricate facts.

Final Thoughts

In modern society, the story of “Drawing a Snake and Adding Feet” still holds important lessons. Whether in work, study, or life, we should avoid making unnecessary moves or saying unnecessary things, so as not to bring unnecessary trouble and distress to ourselves and others. At the same time, we should also maintain calm and rationality, making correct judgments and decisions when facing problems and challenges.