叶公好龙

Yè Gōng Hào Lóng

叶公说自己喜欢龙,真龙来了却吓得逃走。比喻口头上爱好某事物,其实并不是真的喜欢。

Lord Ye loves dragons — claiming to love something until the real thing shows up and sends you running.

cóngqiánchǔguóyǒuwèigōngbiéhuānlóngjiādezhùzishàngliángshàngqiángshàngwǎnshàngdōuhuàzhelóngshàngxiùzhelóngbiéréndōushuō:“gōngzhēnshìàilóngderéna!”

tiānshàngzhēndeyǒutiáolóngtīngshuōgōngzhèmeàihěnshìgǎndòngjiùténgyúnjiàláidàogōngjiābài访fǎnglóngdetóushēnjìnchuāngchángchángdewěibabǎizàitīngtáng

gōnghuítóukànjiànzhēnlóngliǎndōuxiàbáilezhuǎnshēntuǐjiùpǎoliánxiézidōupǎodiàolezhīlónglèngzàizhècáimíngbáigōngàidegēnběnshìzhēnzhèngdelóngzhǐshìqiángshànghuàdelóng

hòuláirénmenjiùyònggōnghàolóng”,rénzuǐshàngshuōhuānxīnshíshìzhēnhuān

Long ago, in the state of Chu, there lived a lord called Lord Ye. He was famous for loving dragons. Dragons were painted on his pillars, carved on his beams, stitched on his robes, and decorated his bowls. Everyone said, “Lord Ye truly loves dragons!”

A real dragon in the heavens heard about him and was so moved that it flew down on the clouds to pay him a visit. It poked its great head through a window, and its long tail curled into the hall.

Lord Ye turned around, saw the real dragon, went pale — and ran. He ran so fast he lost one of his shoes. The dragon just stood there, puzzled, and realized: Lord Ye didn't love dragons at all. He only loved the pictures of them.

From this comes the saying “Lord Ye loves dragons,” used for anyone who claims to love something in words but doesn't really love it in their heart.