Ke Zhou Qiu Jian (Carving a mark on a boat to find a sword): Denying the motion of matter and failing to realize that nothing exists in a state of absolute rest.
Qi Ren You Tian (The man from Qi worrying about the sky falling): Denying the objectivity of the laws governing the motion of matter.
Hua Long Dian Jing (Adding the finishing touch to a dragon): Refers to the importance of grasping key points in work, which aligns with the principle of primary contradictions. Similar expressions include 'capturing the bandit by capturing the leader,' 'leading a cow by its nose,' and 'using good steel on the blade.'
Hua She Tian Zu (Adding legs to a snake): One should reflect objective things and their laws as they are, without subjective or arbitrary distortion.
Yan Er Dao Ling (Plugging one's ears while stealing a bell): Violates the principle that matter determines consciousness by attempting to replace objective reality with subjective desire, falsely believing that subjective sensation determines objective existence—a form of absurd subjective idealism. Similar idioms include 'drawing a cake to satisfy hunger,' 'tasting plums to quench thirst,' 'Mr. Zheng buying shoes,' and 'cutting feet to fit shoes.'
Zheng Ren Mai Lü (Mr. Zheng buying shoes): Being rigid and dogmatic without considering practical realities will ultimately lead to failure.
Zao Bi Tou Guang (Drilling a hole in the wall to steal light): The fundamental cause of an object's development lies in its internal contradictory motion.
She Ben Qiu Mo (Seeking the branch while losing the root): Reversing the relationship between primary and secondary contradictions, leading to a failure to focus on key aspects.
Pao Ding Jie Niu (Cook Ding butchering an ox): Only by understanding and adhering to the laws of things can one achieve optimal results.
Zhi Shang Tan Bing (Discussing military tactics on paper): Severing the link between theory and practice, placing excessive emphasis on theory while neglecting practice.
Shou Zhu Dai Tu (Waiting by a tree for a rabbit): Mistaking coincidence for necessity and phenomena for laws.
Yin Shi Li Dao (Guiding things with the trend): Acting in accordance with the laws of objective development and utilizing those laws to achieve success.
Tian Ji Sai Ma (Tian Ji's horse racing): Quantitative changes in the components and their combinations of an object can lead to qualitative changes.
Xiong You Cheng Zhu (Having a well-thought-out plan): Once the laws of things are understood, one moves from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom.
Dong Shi Xiao Pin (Dong Shi imitating a frown): Merely imitating form without researching the essential content.
Han Dan Xue Bu (Learning the gait of Handan): While commonalities can be learned, one must not ignore individuality through mindless imitation. This describes a failure to think critically, leading to clumsy results. It teaches us that understanding things requires both preparedness and active thinking; otherwise, correct understanding is impossible. Similar idioms include 'Dong Shi imitating a frown' and 'swallowing a whole date without chewing.'
