have great ambition but little talent

have great ambition but little talent

The Chinese idiom is "Zhi ì D à C á ISH à", which means that although the ambition is great, the ability is not enough. It comes from the biography of Kong Rong in the later Han Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Kong Rong in the book of the later Han Dynasty, it is said that "he bears his high spirit, aims at Jingnan, but has a wide range of talents and ideas, so far he has not succeeded."

Idiom usage

[example] this person exaggerates.

Idioms and allusions

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Kong Rong tried his best to protect the interests of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, satirized and opposed Cao Cao's policy. In order to save food, Cao Cao banned drinking. Kong Rong wrote an article about the benefits of drinking. He said that Cao Cao was wrong in front of the envoys of the east Wu Dynasty, but he was killed by Cao Cao. Later generations commented that he was a man with lofty ideals and few talents, and could not accomplish great things.