去粗取精 qù cū qǔ jīng extract the essence

Explanation

去掉粗糙、不重要的部分，留下精华、重要的部分。比喻从大量材料中选择精华。

Remove the rough and unimportant parts and keep the essence and important parts. A metaphor for selecting the essence from a large amount of material.

Origin Story

很久以前，在一个偏僻的山村里，住着一位名叫李明的年轻樵夫。他每天清晨都会上山砍柴，山上的树木种类繁多，有粗壮高大的松树，也有纤细矮小的灌木。李明渐渐发现，不同的树木具有不同的用途和价值。粗大的树干可以用来建造房屋，结实的树枝可以用来制作工具，而一些细小的枝条则可以用来编织筐篮。于是，李明开始有选择地砍柴，他只砍那些粗壮高大的松树，留下那些纤细矮小的灌木。后来，村里人发现李明砍的柴不仅结实耐用，而且种类齐全，于是纷纷向他学习。李明的故事在村里广为流传，人们用“去粗取精”来形容他这种善于选择，注重质量的生活态度。后来，李明的砍柴技术越来越好，他的柴火生意也越来越红火，他成为了村里最富有的樵夫之一。然而，李明并没有因此而骄傲自满，他仍然坚持着“去粗取精”的原则，不断地提高自己的砍柴技术，为村里人提供更多更好的柴火。

hěn jiǔ yǐ qián, zài yīgè piān pì de shān cūn lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào lǐ míng de nián qīng qiáofū。tā měi tiān qīng chén dōu huì shàng shān kǎn chái, shān shàng de shù mù zhǒng lèi fán duō, yǒu cū zhuàng gāo dà de sōng shù, yě yǒu xiān xì ǎi xiǎo de guàn mù。lǐ míng jiàn jiàn fā xiàn, bù tóng de shù mù jù yǒu bù tóng de yòng tú hé jià zhí。cū dà de shù gàn kě yǐ yòng lái jiàn zào fáng wū, jié shi de shù zhī kě yǐ yòng lái zhì zuò gōng jù, ér yī xiē xì xiǎo de zhī tiáo zé kě yǐ yòng lái biān zhī kuāng lán。yú shì, lǐ míng kāishǐ yǒu xuǎn zé dì kǎn chái, tā zhǐ kǎn nà xiē cū zhuàng gāo dà de sōng shù, liú xià nà xiē xiān xì ǎi xiǎo de guàn mù。hòu lái, cūn lǐ rén fā xiàn lǐ míng kǎn de chái bù jǐn jié shi nài yòng, ér qiě zhǒng lèi qí quán, yú shì fēn fēn xiàng tā xué xí。lǐ míng de gù shì zài cūn lǐ guǎng wèi liú chuán, rén men yòng “qù cū qǔ jīng” lái xíng róng tā zhè zhǒng shàn yú xuǎn zé, zhòng shì zhì liàng de shēng huó tài du。hòu lái, lǐ míng de kǎn chái jì shù yuè lái yuè hǎo, tā de chái huǒ shēng yì yě yuè lái yuè hóng huǒ, tā chéng le cūn lǐ zuì fù yǒu de qiáofū zhī yī。rán ér, lǐ míng bìng méi yǒu yīn cǐ ér jiāo ào zì mǎn, tā réng rán jiān chí zhe “qù cū qǔ jīng” de yuán zé, bù duàn de tí gāo zì jǐ de kǎn chái jì shù, wèi cūn lǐ rén tí gōng gèng duō gèng hǎo de chái huǒ。

Long ago, in a remote mountain village, lived a young woodsman named Li Ming. Every morning he would go up the mountain to chop wood. The trees on the mountain were diverse, with thick, tall pine trees and delicate, small shrubs. Li Ming gradually discovered that different trees had different uses and values. The thick trunks could be used to build houses, the strong branches to make tools, and some small branches to weave baskets. So, Li Ming began to chop wood selectively, only chopping those thick, tall pine trees and leaving the delicate, small shrubs. Later, the villagers found that the wood Li Ming chopped was not only strong and durable, but also complete in variety, so they all learned from him. Li Ming's story spread throughout the village, and people used “qù cū qǔ jīng” to describe his life attitude of being good at choosing and focusing on quality. Later, Li Ming's wood chopping skills became better and better, and his firewood business became more and more prosperous. He became one of the richest woodsmen in the village. However, Li Ming did not become proud and complacent because of this. He still adhered to the principle of “qù cū qǔ jīng”, constantly improving his wood chopping skills, and providing the villagers with more and better firewood.

Usage

用于比喻从大量材料中选择精华，或在学习、工作等方面注重效率，选择重点。

yòng yú bǐ yù cóng dà liàng cáiliào zhōng xuǎn zé jīng huá, huò zài xué xí, gōng zuò děng fāng miàn zhòng shì xiào lǜ, xuǎn zé zhòng diǎn。

Used to illustrate the selection of essence from a large amount of material, or to emphasize efficiency and focus in learning and work.

Examples

• 他对古诗词的鉴赏能力极高，能够去粗取精，领略其深厚韵味。

  tā duì gǔ shī cí de jiǎn shǎng néng lì jí gāo, nénggòu qù cū qǔ jīng, lǐng luè qí shēn hòu yùn wèi。

  He has a very high appreciation ability for classical poetry and can extract the essence and appreciate its profound artistic conception.

• 学习要注重效率，去粗取精，避免贪多嚼不烂。

  xuéxí yào zhòng shì xiào lǜ, qù cū qǔ jīng, bìmiǎn tān duō jiáo bù làn。

  Learning should focus on efficiency, refine, and avoid learning too much to digest.

Related Idioms

• 取其精华，去其糟粕

• 精挑细选

Opposite Idioms

• 囫囵吞枣

• 不加选择