📖 Meaning
A metaphor for a skill that, despite being highly refined and requiring great effort to master, has no practical application. It describes expertise that is impressive in theory but entirely useless in reality because the situation it addresses never arises.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Zhuangzi (庄子), chapter 'Lie Yukou' (列御寇), a Daoist text from the Warring States period. The story tells of a man named Zhu Pingman who spent his entire fortune learning the art of slaying dragons from a master named Zhi Liyi (支离益). After years of study he finally mastered the skill, yet there were no dragons in the world to kill, rendering his hard-won expertise completely useless. The tale illustrates the futility of pursuing knowledge that has no real-world utility.
💡 Example Usage
他耗尽家财学会的那门技艺，不过是屠龙之伎罢了。
The skill he spent his entire fortune learning is nothing more than the art of dragon-slaying—useless in practice.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 屠龙之伎
- Pinyin: tú lóng zhī jì
- Literal Translation: slay, dragon, 's, skill
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4