Idiom Explainer: 对牛弹琴: Music and cows?

16/02/26

对牛弹琴 (duì níu tán qín) lit: to play music to a cow

Chewing on sublime, crunchy grass in a field, a cow is accosted by a musician bearing an instrument. Unperturbed, the cow goes on chewing. The musician begins playing and, to his astonishment, the cow does not show the appreciation that the musician believes is due. The dejected musician blames not his music, but the fact that the cow cannot possibly conceive of how superb his music truly is.

The musician retreats to write down his thoughts, expressing the idea that some audiences are incapable of fully appreciating art put before them - 对牛弹琴 / toward-cow-play-lute) / dùi níu tán qín.

Three ways to use it:

• Use when explaining something to someone who isn’t interested (talking about the FTSE 100 to a newborn baby).

• Use when there is an understandable gap in knowledge (telling a colleague about something specific to your department).

• Use when your languages do not match (speaking in Chinese to someone who, strangely, has left Chinese language-learning to the pursuits of others).

  
  

One way to avoid it:

• Avoid when your line manager does not understand your reasoning behind a decision. As in all areas of life, avoid referring to them as anything bovine.

  
  

Professional Use:

• Leaders: 领导者必须避免对牛弹琴，而应根据听众调整表达方式。A leader must avoid speaking “to cows” and instead adjust their communication to the audience.

• Beginners: 你跟他讲这么复杂的道理，简直是对牛弹琴。Talking to him about something so complex is like playing the lute to a cow.

  
  

Origin: This 成语 first appears in writing in 理惑论 (Lí Huò Lùn) (c. 180 CE), wherein a scholar defends Buddhism using Confucian thought.

I trust that you will have a splendid, fruitful week.

Daniel Sherwood-Clarke | Mandarin Tutor to ambitious students

sherwoodclarke.com