try to draw a tiger and end up with the likeness of a dog -- make a poor imitation

try to draw a tiger and end up with the likeness of a dog -- make a poor imitation

Chinese idiom, Pinyin is Hu à h à L è Ig à u, which means you can't draw a tiger, but you look like a dog. Metaphors are neither good nor bad because they are not imitated well. It comes from the biography of Ma Yuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty.

Idioms and allusions

origin

At the beginning of Fan Ye's biography of Ma Yuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, his elder brothers Yan and dun were both fond of ridicule, but they were more than swordsmen. Before the aid, he wrote a admonition: "I want you to hear people's mistakes, just like hearing the name of your parents. You can hear them with your ears, but you can't speak them with your mouth. It's a great evil for me to discuss people's merits and demerits. I'd rather die than hear about my descendants. You and Cao know how evil I am, so when you reply, Shi Jin will tie the knot and apply for the precepts of your parents, so that you and Cao will never forget. Long BOGAO is honest and honest, Zhou Shen is speechless, modest and thrifty, honest and powerful. My love is very important. I hope you and Cao will follow suit. Du Jiliang is a gallant man. He likes righteousness, worries about people, and enjoys people's happiness. He is clear and has nothing to lose. His father's death has brought him many guests. After several counties, I love him so much that I don't want you to be effective. As a result, he is still a person of imperial edict. The so-called "draw a tiger but not a dog" is the same. As far as Ji Liang is concerned, the county will always get off the train and gnash its teeth. The prefecture thinks that I am always cold hearted, so I don't want my children and grandchildren to follow suit. 」

Source translation

At first, Ma Yan and Ma Dun, the sons of brother Ma Yuan, liked to ridicule current affairs and had little contact with Xiake. Ma Yuan wrote a letter home to admonish him: "I think you should listen to other people's mistakes just like you listen to your parents' names. You can hear them with your ears, but you can't talk about them with your mouth. I like to talk about the length of people and ridicule current affairs. This is what I hate most. I would rather die than hear such behavior from my descendants. You know that I hate it very much. The reason why I want to talk about it again is that I want to state the admonition of my parents just like when a man and a woman are married, so that you will remember it. Long BOGAO is honest, considerate and prudent. He is modest, thrifty, honest and just. He has prestige. I love him very much and respect him. I hope you can learn from him. The hero Du Jiliang likes to show his loyalty, worry about others, and enjoy others. Good and bad people get along well. When his father died, people from several counties came to mourn. I love him and respect him, but I don't want you to learn from him. If you don't learn from long BOGAO, you are still a prudent and diligent person. You can't carve a swan like a duck. If you don't learn from Du Jiliang, you will degenerate into a frivolous child in the world. The so-called painting a tiger is not like painting a dog. Up to now, Du Jiliang still doesn't know. The generals in the county hate him as soon as they get off the bus. All the prefectures say that I always feel cold for him, so I don't want my descendants to learn from him. "

Idiom usage

In Pu Songling's Liao Zhai Zhi Yi · Rouge of Qing Dynasty, it is said that "I've made a promise to you, but I'm afraid that I'll turn a tiger into a dog and cause slander." Liu Bannong's "reading the biography of flowers on the sea" said: "if you don't have the intelligence to dispatch it and the strength to carry it, you'll just draw a tiger like a dog." Chapter 11 of "street lamp": "the great prime minister is very clever. He is a man who can draw tigers and cats at the first sight." Xiaoyi said with a smile, "Duanfu is not very clever. He is afraid to draw tiger like dogs."

The origin of Idioms

Ma Yuan Zhuan in the book of the later Han Dynasty: "if you can't be good in season, you can't fall into the trap of being a light son in the world. It's so-called that you can't draw a tiger but like a dog."

Analysis of Idioms

It's not like painting a tiger, it's like a dog, it's like painting a tiger

Idiom story

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fubo General Ma Yuan was very strict with the education of his sons and nephews, hoping that they would become useful talents. He didn't like his nephews Ma Yan and Ma Dun gossiping behind others. He wrote a letter to admonish them to learn from Du Jiliang and long BOGAO. If you can't learn, it's like you can't draw a tiger. Instead, you can draw like a dog