📖 Meaning
This idiom describes doing something superfluous that not only fails to add value but actually spoils the original effort. It serves as a warning against overreaching and ruining a perfectly good result through unnecessary embellishment.
📜 Origin Story
The underlying story comes from the Warring States period text "Strategies of the Warring States" (战国策). After a sacrificial ceremony, a nobleman gave a pot of wine to his retainers, who decided to hold a snake-drawing contest to determine who would drink it. One man finished his drawing first but, boasting, added feet to his snake. Before he could finish, another man completed his drawing, seized the wine, and declared that snakes have no feet, leaving the first man with nothing. The specific phrase "画蛇著足" appears in Tang dynasty poet Han Yu's poem "Thoughts on Spring" (感春), where he laments wasted effort in old age.
💡 Example Usage
这篇文章已经写得很好，不必再画蛇著足了。
This essay is already well-written; there is no need to ruin it by adding unnecessary flourishes.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 画蛇著足
- Pinyin: huà shé zhuó zú
- Literal Translation: draw, snake, add, feet
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4