Idiom Explanation:
Lord Ye has always liked dragons, but until the real dragon appeared in front of him, he knew that he did not really like, or even afraid of dragons. It is a metaphor for claiming to love something on the surface, but in reality not really loving it, or even fearing it.
Pronunciation:
叶公好龙
yè gōng hào lóng
Origin:
汉·刘向《新序·杂事五》：叶公子高好龙，钩以写龙，凿以写龙，屋室雕文以写龙。于是夫龙闻而下之，窥头于牖，施尾于堂。叶公见之，弃而还走，失其魂魄，五色无主。是叶公非好龙也，好夫似龙而非龙者也。
Story:
This is an exaggerated story. During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a magistrate named Shen Chu Liang in Ye County, Chu State, and everyone called him Ye Gong.
Ye Gong was very fond of things about dragons, no matter it was decorations, beams, doors and windows, wine pots, wine cups, bowls and plates, clothes, all had dragon patterns on them, even the eaves and roofs of his house were carved with dragon patterns, people walked into Ye Gong’s house and thought they had walked into a dragon palace, they could see dragon patterns everywhere! “My favorite thing is dragons!” Ye Gong proudly said to everyone.
One day, Ye Gong’s love of dragons into a fetish known by the real dragon in the sky, the real dragon said: “Rarely someone so fond of dragons, I have to go to his home to visit ah!” The real dragon flew from the sky to Ye Gong’s house, with its head on the windowsill, and its tail stretched into the hall, shouting, “Is Ye Gong home?” As soon as Ye Gong saw the real dragon, he turned and ran in fear, as if he had lost his soul, his face suddenly changed, and he could not control himself. As he ran, he shouted, “Wow! Monster!” The real dragon felt very strange and said, “Why do you call me a monster? I am your favorite dragon!” Ye Gong shivered with fear and said, “I like the fake dragon like a dragon, not a real dragon, help.”
Before he could finish his sentence, he rushed out and fled! The real dragon said with a chagrined look on his face, “Humph, it’s not true that Ye Gong likes dragons, he’s afraid of dragons! I even flew to visit him!”
