买椟还珠

Mǎi Dú Huán Zhū

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.

cóngqiánchǔguóyǒurénxiǎngmíngguìdezhēnzhūmàihǎojiàqiánzhǎoláizuìxiāngdetouzuòlejīngměidezishàngmiàndiāozhehuāwénháiyòngbǎoshídiǎnzhuì

zhēnzhūfàngjìnzidàidàozhèngguómàizhèngguórénkànyǎnjīngbèiziyǐnzhùlechūlegāojiàmǎixiàláikāiziquèmiàndezhēnzhūhuángěilechǔguórénzhǐliúxiàlegepiàoliàngdezi

chǔguórénlèngzhùlezhēnzhèngzhíqiándeshìzhēnzhūaquèzhǐyàozi

hòuláirénmenjiùyòngmǎihuánzhūláifěngxiēzhǐkànbiǎomiànfēnqīngqīngzhòngderén

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.