对牛弹琴

Duì Niú Tán Qín

对着牛弹琴,牛根本听不懂。比喻对不懂的人讲大道理,白费力气。

Playing the lute to an ox — explaining something to someone who can't or won't understand.

shíhòuyǒuwèiyīnyuèjiāmíngjiàogōngmíngzuìàitánqínqíntándefēichánghǎotīng

yǒutiāndàowàisànkànjiàntóuniúzhèngzhetóuchīcǎogōngmíngxìngzhìláilejiùzuòxiàláiduìzheniúrènrènzhēnzhēndetánshǒugāodezi

shìtóuniúnetóutáizhǐchīdecǎodiǎnfǎnyìngméiyǒugōngmíngxiǎnglexiǎnghuànlezhǒngzixuéniújiàodeshēngyīnxuéwénzidewēngwēngshēngzhèhuíniútíngxiàzuǐshùěrduǒyáolewěiba——tīngdǒngdeshìshúdeshēngyīn

gōngmíngxiàozheshuō:“shìdeqínhǎoshìtáncuòleduìxiàng。”hòuláirénmenjiùyòngduìniútánqínláigēndǒngderénjiǎngdàobáibáilàngfèigōngfu

In ancient times there was a musician named Gong Ming Yi. He loved playing the qin, and he played it beautifully.

One day, walking in the countryside, he saw an ox with its head down, quietly munching grass. Feeling inspired, he sat down and played a refined, elegant piece for the ox.

And the ox? It didn't even look up. It went on chewing its grass, as if he weren't there at all. Gong Ming Yi thought for a moment, then changed his tune — imitating the cry of a calf and the buzz of mosquitoes. This time the ox stopped chewing, pricked its ears, and swished its tail. It had recognized sounds it knew.

“It isn't my qin that's wrong,” Gong Ming Yi said with a laugh, “it's my audience.” From this comes “playing the lute to an ox,” a phrase for wasting your words on someone who cannot understand them.