📖 Meaning
A metaphor for mature, superb, and masterful craftsmanship or technique. It describes an expert so skilled that they can perform an impossibly delicate task with effortless precision, as if the difficulty simply does not exist.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Daoist classic Zhuangzi (《庄子·徐无鬼》), written during the Warring States period. The story tells of a stonemason from Ying, the capital of the Chu state, who could swing his axe and slice a fleck of white plaster off the tip of his friend's nose without leaving a scratch. His secret lay not only in his own flawless technique, but in his partner's absolute trust and stillness. When his friend died, the stonemason lamented that he had lost his craft forever, for no one else would stand so fearlessly still.
💡 Example Usage
这位雕刻大师的手法如郢人斫垩，分毫不差。
This master sculptor's technique is like a Ying craftsman chopping off white plaster — not a hair's breadth off.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 郢人斫垩
- Pinyin: yǐng rén zhuó è
- Literal Translation: Ying person, chops, white plaster
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4