sap one's spirit by seeking pleasures
The Chinese idiom, pronounced w á NW ù s à ngzh ì, means that if you indulge in enjoying some things or indulge in some small interests, you will lose your ambition to be aggressive and forward-looking. It's from the book, Lu mastiff.
These interests are not necessarily harmful and negative, but they can't spend all their time on them.
The origin of Idioms
"Book · Lu mastiff": "play people lose virtue, play things lose ambition."
Idiom usage
It has a derogatory meaning. Examples Taoists teach people to write less poetry, saying that it is "~", saying that it is "harmful to the Tao", then poetry becomes nonsense, this so-called poetry refers to the works of expression. On nonsense by Zhu Ziqing
Idiom story
In 668 BC, Chinese history entered the spring and Autumn period. With the decline of the royal family of Zhou Dynasty, various vassal states vied for supremacy, and the law of the jungle prevailed. At this time, Wei state was a different scene. After decades of political turmoil in zhouxu, Xuangong, Huigong and Qianmou, the vitality of Wei state was greatly damaged. The glory of Kangshu and Wugong in those years had already become a distant back. At this time, a generation of absurd monarch Wei Yigong stepped on the historical stage of Wei state. Wei Yigong is the 17th monarch of the fourteenth generation of the state of Wei. His greatest hobby in his life is neither power nor sex, nor governing the country, but raising cranes. He built a special palace for raising cranes and kept company with them all day long. He was so fond of crane's outstanding appearance and arrogant and elegant posture that he was so infatuated that he forgot all the important and trivial things from top to bottom. He also let the crane ride in a luxury car, which is even more advanced than that of the Minister of the central court. When the crane's car passes through the street, all passers-by must respectfully dodge. In order to raise cranes, the state of Wei has to spend a lot of money every year, and the people have virtually increased the burden. As Duke Wei Yigong abandoned state affairs, ministers' memorials were like peanuts entering the sea, and many international and domestic affairs were not handled in time, which gradually aroused strong dissatisfaction among ministers. However, Duke Wei Yi indulged in playing with cranes and ignored the reality. He had long lost his ambition of rejuvenating the state of Wei. Soon, the disaster of Wei state came. In 659 BC, the di tribes in Shanxi and Shaanxi seized the opportunity to invade the Wei state. After receiving the memorial, Duke Wei Yi was immediately flustered. He ordered the army to resist, but the soldiers said angrily: "since crane can enjoy higher treatment than us, let it fight now!" Duke Wei Yi had no choice but to personally direct the troops to fight against Di Ren in Xingze. Because the army had no intention of fighting, the army of the state of Wei was soon defeated by the di tribe, and even Wei Yigong was killed in the battle. The Wei state was destroyed, and the history of Chaoge as the capital of the state ended. Later, if the state of Qi and song had not sent troops to help save the remaining 700 people of the Wei state, the Wei state would have been destroyed. later generations should not forget the lesson of Wei Yigong's playing with crane to subjugate the country, so they call his behavior "playing with things to lose heart". There is a poem in the ancients: "I heard the ancient saying that we should avoid the shortage of birds, but a crane will die.". At that time, Xingze was full of phosphorous fire. Maybe he would return to the fairyland by crane? " It's a sharp satire on Wei Yigong.
Chinese PinYin : wán wù sàng zhì
sap one's spirit by seeking pleasures
Search the kidney and stomach. sōu suǒ shèn wèi
the hardship of nourishing an offspring. tuī zào jū shī
dragon in outward marks but fish in essence -- an inferior thing with an impressive appearance. yú zhì lóng wén