雕虫小巧 minor skill
Explanation
比喻微不足道的技能。
A metaphor for insignificant skills.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，有个叫张祜的诗人，他的诗才华横溢，被誉为“诗家天子”。可是，他却对自己的诗歌创作过于自满，认为自己已经达到炉火纯青的境界，不屑于学习其他的诗歌技巧。有一天，他听说一位年轻诗人写出了几首非常优秀的诗歌，便想去见识一下。结果，他发现这位年轻诗人的诗歌不仅意境优美，而且技巧娴熟，远胜于自己。张祜不禁自愧不如，感慨道：“我以前过于自负，只顾着在诗歌的技巧上做些雕虫小巧的事情，而忽略了诗歌的意境和思想深度，真是惭愧啊！”从此以后，张祜更加谦虚谨慎，认真学习，不断提高自己的诗歌创作水平。
It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Zhang Hu, whose poetic talent was extraordinary and he was known as the "heavenly poet". However, he was too complacent about his own poetry creation, believing that he had already reached the peak of perfection and did not need to learn other poetic techniques. One day, he heard that a young poet had written several excellent poems, so he wanted to see for himself. As a result, he found that the young poet's poems were not only beautiful in terms of artistic expression but also skillful in technique, far surpassing his own. Zhang Hu couldn't help but feel ashamed and sighed, "I used to be too arrogant, only caring about doing some minor things in poetic techniques, while neglecting the artistic expression and depth of thought in poetry, what a shame!" From then on, Zhang Hu became more humble and cautious, studying hard and continuously improving his level of poetry creation.
Usage
用于形容微不足道的技能或技巧。
Used to describe insignificant skills or techniques.
Examples
-
他的书法只是雕虫小巧，算不上大家风范。
tā de shūfǎ zhǐshì diāo chóng xiǎo qiǎo, suàn bù shàng dàjiā fēngfàn
His calligraphy is just a minor skill, not a master's style.
-
这种小把戏，不过是雕虫小巧罢了。
zhè zhǒng xiǎo bǎjì, bùguò shì diāo chóng xiǎo qiǎo bà le
This little trick is just a minor skill.