舞文弄墨 wǔ wén nòng mò to play with words

Explanation

本意是指玩弄文字技巧，现也指滥用文字，故弄玄虚。

It originally referred to playing with literary techniques, but now it also means abusing words and making things mysterious.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个秀才名叫李白，他自诩才华横溢，喜欢在文章里堆砌华丽辞藻，故弄玄虚。一次，他参加科举考试，写了一篇策论，刻意运用各种修辞手法，结果文章晦涩难懂，主考官看得一头雾水，最终落榜。李白不服气，认为是自己才华被埋没，于是更加卖力地舞文弄墨，但始终未能获得仕途上的成功。他后来的诗作中，虽不乏佳句，但仍有过于雕琢，流于形式之嫌。他的经历成为了后世“舞文弄墨”的反面教材，警示人们要注重文章内容的实在，切忌为了炫耀技巧而玩弄文字。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu gè xiù cái míng jiào lǐ bái, tā zì xǔ cái huá héng yì, xǐ huān zài wén zhāng lǐ duī qì huá lì cí zǎo, gù nòng xuán xū。yī cì, tā cān jiā kē jǔ kǎo shì, xiě le yī piān cè lùn, kè yì yòng yùn gè zhǒng xiū cí shǒu fǎ, jié guǒ wén zhāng huì sè nán dǒng, zhǔ kǎo guān kàn de yī tóu wù shuǐ, zuì zhōng luò bǎng。lǐ bái bù fú qì, rèn wéi shì zì jǐ cái huá bèi mái mò, yú shì gèng jiā mài lì de wǔ wén nòng mò, dàn shǐ zhōng wèi néng huò dé shì tú shang de chéng gōng。tā hòu lái de shī zuò zhōng, suī bù fá jiā jù, dàn réng yǒu guò yú diāo zhuō, liú yú xíng shì zhī xián。tā de jīng lì chéng le hòu shì “wǔ wén nòng mò” de fǎn miàn jiào cái, jǐng shì rén men yào zhù zhòng wén zhāng nèi róng de shí zài, qiè jì wèi le xuàn yào jì qiǎo ér wán nòng wén zì。

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar named Li Bai who considered himself exceptionally talented and loved to use ornate language and obscure expressions in his writing. Once, he took the imperial examination, and in his essay, he deliberately employed various rhetorical devices. The result was that his essay was obscure and difficult to understand, leaving the examiner completely baffled. Consequently, Li Bai failed the examination. Disappointed, he believed his talent had been overlooked and doubled down on his elaborate writing style, yet still did not achieve success in his official career. While some of his later poetry contained beautiful lines, they often showed signs of being overly polished and overly formal. His experiences became a cautionary tale for the idiom "wǔ wén nòng mò", reminding people to value substance over style in writing, and cautioning against merely playing with words to show off technique.

Usage

多用于贬义，形容玩弄文字技巧，或滥用文字，故弄玄虚。

duō yòng yú biǎn yì, xíng róng wán nòng wén zì jì qiǎo, huò làn yòng wén zì, gù nòng xuán xū。

Often used negatively, describing the use of literary techniques or the abuse of words to create mystery.

Examples

• 他舞文弄墨的功夫了得，写出来的文章十分精彩。

  tā wǔ wén nòng mò de gōng fū liǎo de, xiě chū lái de wén zhāng shí fēn jīng cǎi。

  His skill in wielding words is remarkable, and his writings are exceptionally captivating.

• 这篇论文充满了华丽的辞藻，明显是舞文弄墨之作。

  zhè piān lùn wén chōng mǎn le huá lì de cí zǎo, míng xiǎn shì wǔ wén nòng mò zhī zuò。

  This paper is replete with ornate phrases, a clear indication of its literary embellishments.

• 某些政客喜欢舞文弄墨，以掩盖其政治上的无能。

  mǒu xiē zhèng kè xǐ huān wǔ wén nòng mò, yǐ yǎn gài qí zhèng zhì shang de wú néng。

  Certain politicians favor manipulating language to conceal their political incompetence.

Related Idioms

• 弄巧成拙

• 雕虫小技

Opposite Idioms

• 目不识丁

• 不学无术