Idiom Explanation:
Judging and measuring the quality of a person’s ability based on his or her physical appearance and clothing.
Pronunciation:
以貌取人
yǐ mào qǔ rén
Origin:
西汉·司马迁《史记·仲尼弟子列传》：吾以言取人，失之宰予，以貌取人，失之子羽。
Story:
Confucius was a great educator during the Spring and Autumn Period of China, and he took many students during his life, reportedly more than 3,000. So was he right about every student? When it comes to whether or not he misjudged his students, Confucius himself admitted that he had made mistakes in this regard. There was a very articulate student and an ugly student, both of whom Confucius once misjudged.
The student who was a good talker was named Zaiyu and was good at talking, so Confucius thought he was good at everything. In fact, this man was neither filial to his parents nor benevolent, and he was very lazy, sleeping during the day, “a rotten wood that cannot be carved”. One day, Zaiyu even said to Confucius, “When my parents died, it is too long to observe mourning for three years. If you don’t study for three years, what you have studied, you will also forget.” Confucius was angry at hearing this and said, “O Zaiyu, you are so unfilial. You could not leave your parents’ embrace when you were three years old; is it too long to observe filial piety for three years?”
Later, Zaiyu was involved in a rebellion and was killed. Confucius then realized that he himself had misjudged Zaiyu.
Confucius had another disciple named Tantai Miming (character Zi Yu), who was ungainly and ugly looking, and Confucius began to think that he had low qualifications and would not become a success, and also that he had poor moral character. However, to Confucius’ surprise, Tantai Miming went back to study with his teacher and devoted himself to cultivating his body and practice. Later, when Tantai Miming went to the south to give lectures, people thought highly of him, and there were 300 students following him. His reputation spread in all directions.
Therefore, Confucius lamented, “I judge people only by what they say, and I found myself wrong in Zaiyu; I was wrong again in Tantai Miming when I judged people by their appearance.”
