stand on the edge of a pool and idly long for fish

stand on the edge of a pool and idly long for fish

Linhe Xianyu, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is l í NH é Xi à NY ú, which means that if you want to get fish by the water, you'd better go home and make a net. It's no good for a thing to have only wishes but no measures. Or it's a metaphor for hoping to get something and not putting it into action. From Huainanzi shuolinxun.

The origin of Idioms

In Huai Nan Zi Shuo Lin Xun written by Liu An of the Western Han Dynasty, it is said that "if you admire fish near the river, you can't go home and weave a net."

Idioms and allusions

Original allusion

In the biographies of Dong Zhongshu, Volume 56 of the book of Han Dynasty, the ancients said: "Linyuan is envious of fish. It's better to retreat and form a net." Now that we are in politics and are willing to govern, it is better to retreat and become more prosperous. If we become more prosperous, we will be able to govern well. If we are good at governance, disasters will go away and prosperity will come. The poem said: "it is suitable for the people and pleasant, and the salary is due to the heaven." For the sake of government, those who are suitable for the people should receive salary from heaven. The benevolence, friendship and propriety of the husband know and believe in the five principles, which should be corrected by the king; the five principles should be corrected, so they are blessed by heaven, enjoy the spirit of ghosts and gods, and extend the virtue to the people. Yan shigu of Tang Dynasty said, "you should ask for your own words."

Translation of allusions

In the biography of Dong Zhongshu, Volume 56 of the book of Han Dynasty, the ancients proved that "it's better to go back and weave a fish net yourself when you stand by the pool and admire the fish caught by others." It has been more than 70 years since the Han Dynasty was in power and wanted to manage the political affairs well. It is better to go back and carry out the reform. If the reform is carried out, the government can manage well. If the country is well managed, the disasters will be eliminated day by day and the fortune will come day by day. "The book of songs" said: "suitable for the people, suitable for people, accept the blessing of heaven." If the government is suitable for the people, it will naturally be blessed by heaven. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness are the five unchanging ways that kings should cultivate and rectify. If these five kinds of Tao can be cultivated and straightened well, they will be blessed by the heaven, and the ghosts and gods will also sponsor them to accept the sacrifice, and the kindness will be popularized abroad and extended to all life.

Idiom usage

In Han Yangxiong's Hedong Fu, it is said that "Xiong thinks Linchuan envies fish, so it is better to go back and form a net." In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Heng's "Ode to returning to the fields" said: "I admire the fish in Linchuan, but it's not until the river is clear."