📖 Meaning
The skill of slaughtering dragons. It refers to a technique or ability that, while impressive and hard-won, has no practical use in the real world. The idiom highlights the futility of mastering something that can never be applied.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from the 'Lie Yukou' chapter of the Zhuangzi, a foundational Daoist text from the Warring States period. It tells of a man named Zhu Pingman who spent three years and his entire family fortune to learn the art of dragon-slaying from a master named Zhi Liyi. After mastering the skill, he realized there were no dragons in the world to slay, rendering his hard-earned expertise completely useless. The story serves as a caution against devoting oneself to pursuits that have no practical application.
💡 Example Usage
他苦学多年的屠龙之技，到了职场却毫无用武之地。
The dragon-slaying skill he spent years mastering turned out to be completely useless in the workplace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 屠龙之技
- Pinyin: tú lóng zhī jì
- Literal Translation: slaughter, dragon, 's, skill
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4