买椟还珠
买下装珠子的木盒,却把珠子还给卖家。比喻没有眼光,取舍颠倒。
To buy the box and return the pearl — to miss what is truly valuable because one is dazzled by the wrapping.
从前,楚国有一个人想把一颗名贵的珍珠卖个好价钱。他找来最香的木头,做了一个精美的盒子,上面雕着花纹,还用宝石点缀。
他把珍珠放进盒子里,带到郑国去卖。一个郑国人一看,眼睛立刻被盒子吸引住了。他出了高价买下来,打开盒子,却把里面的珍珠还给了楚国人,只留下了那个漂亮的盒子。
楚国人愣住了:真正值钱的是珍珠啊,他却只要盒子!
后来,人们就用“买椟还珠”来讽刺那些只看表面、分不清轻重的人。
Long ago, a man from the state of Chu wanted to sell a rare and precious pearl. He found the most fragrant wood he could buy, carved it into an elegant box, and decorated it with jewels.
He placed the pearl inside the box and carried it to the state of Zheng to sell. A man from Zheng saw the box and couldn't take his eyes off it. He paid a high price for the whole thing — and then, to everyone's surprise, he returned the pearl and walked away with only the box.
The seller was stunned. The pearl was what was truly worth something, but the buyer wanted only the wrapping!
From this story comes the saying “buying the box and returning the pearl,” used to describe people who are fooled by appearances and miss what really matters.
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