文过饰非 gloss over
Explanation
文过饰非是一个成语，意思是：用漂亮的言词掩饰自己的过失和错误。通常用来讽刺那些不肯承认错误，反而找借口掩盖真相的人。
Wen guo shi fei is a Chinese idiom that means to gloss over one's mistakes with eloquent words. It is often used to satirize those who refuse to admit their mistakes and instead seek excuses to cover up the truth.
Origin Story
在一个古老的王朝，有一个名叫李明的官员。他聪明伶俐，深受皇帝的宠爱。然而，他也有一个致命的弱点，那就是爱面子，不愿承认自己的错误。一次，李明负责修建一座城墙，他为了赶进度，使用了劣质材料，导致城墙坍塌。这件事闹得满城风雨，皇帝震怒，责令李明彻查此事。李明知道自己难辞其咎，但为了保住官位，他开始四处寻找借口，企图将责任推卸给其他人。他找来一些文人，编造一些谎言，说城墙坍塌是因为地震，而不是材料问题。皇帝虽然心中怀疑，但碍于李明的身份，也没有过多追究。然而，城墙坍塌的真相最终还是被揭露了。李明被革职下狱，最终落得个身败名裂的下场。
In an ancient dynasty, there was an official named Li Ming. He was intelligent and shrewd, and was favored by the emperor. However, he had a fatal flaw: he loved face and was unwilling to admit his mistakes. Once, Li Ming was responsible for building a city wall. In order to catch up with the schedule, he used inferior materials, which resulted in the collapse of the wall. This incident caused a stir in the city, and the emperor was furious, ordering Li Ming to investigate the matter thoroughly. Li Ming knew that he could not escape the blame, but in order to save his position, he began to look for excuses, trying to shift the blame to others. He brought in some scholars and fabricated lies, saying that the collapse of the wall was caused by an earthquake, not a material problem. Although the emperor was suspicious, he did not investigate further because of Li Ming's status. However, the truth about the collapse of the wall was eventually revealed. Li Ming was dismissed from office and imprisoned, and eventually he ended up losing his reputation and falling into disgrace.
Usage
文过饰非通常用来形容一个人不承认错误，反而找借口掩盖真相的行为。比如，一个学生考试不及格，但他却编造各种理由，说自己是因为生病、没睡好、试题太难等等原因才考不好的，这就是典型的文过饰非。
Wen guo shi fei is often used to describe a person's behavior of not admitting their mistakes, but instead finding excuses to cover up the truth. For example, a student who fails an exam, but invents all sorts of reasons to say that he failed because of illness, poor sleep, difficult exam questions, etc., is a typical example of Wen guo shi fei.
Examples
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他总是喜欢文过饰非，不肯承认自己的错误。
ta zong shi xi huan wen guo shi fei, bu ken cheng ren zi ji de cuo wu.
He always likes to gloss over his mistakes and refuse to admit them.
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面对问题，我们要勇于承认错误，不要文过饰非。
mian dui wen ti, wo men yao yong yu cheng ren cuo wu, bu yao wen guo shi fei.
When facing problems, we should bravely admit our mistakes, not gloss over them.
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文过饰非的行为只会掩盖真相，最终无法解决问题。
wen guo shi fei de xing wei zhi hui yan gai zhen xiang, zui zhong wu fa jie jue wen ti.
The act of glossing over mistakes will only cover up the truth and ultimately fail to solve the problem.
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文过饰非是一种不负责任的行为，会损害个人和集体利益。
wen guo shi fei shi yi zhong bu fu ze ren de xing wei, hui sun hai ge ren he ji ti li yi.
Glossy over mistakes is an irresponsible act that will damage the interests of individuals and collectives.