Idiom Explanation:
Bought the box containing the pearls, but returned the pearls in the box. Metaphorically, there is no vision, and the trade-off is improper.
Pronunciation:
买椟还珠
mǎi dú huán zhū
Origin:
战国·韩非子《韩非子·外储说左上》：楚人有卖其珠于郑者，为木兰之柜，薰以桂椒，缀以珠玉，饰以玫瑰，辑以翡翠。 郑人买其椟而还其珠。此可谓善卖椟矣，未可谓善鬻珠也。今世之谈也，皆道辩说文辞之言，人主览其文而忘有用 。
Story:
Once upon a time, a man from Chu, who had a beautiful pearl, he intended to sell this pearl. In order to sell it for a good price, he thought of packaging the pearl properly. He thought that with the noble packaging, the pearl’s “status” would be raised a lot.
So, the Chu man found a valuable magnolia, and invited a master craftsman to make a box (i.e. casket) for the pearls, and smoked the box with cinnamon and pepper spices to make it fragrant. Then, on the outside of the box carved many beautiful patterns, but also set with a beautiful metal lace, looks, shiny gold, is really a delicate and beautiful crafts.
Then, the Chu people will carefully put the pearls into the box, to the market to sell. Soon after arriving at the market, many people gathered around to admire the Chu’s box. A Zheng man took the box in his hand and looked at it for half a day, but he couldn’t let go of it and finally paid a high price for the box. After paying the money, the Zheng man took the box and went back. But not a few steps he came back. Chu thought that Zheng wanted to return the box because he regretted it, but before Chu finished thinking, Zheng had already walked to Chu. He took the pearl out of the opened box and gave it to the Chu, saying, “Sir, you forgot to put a pearl in the box, and I came back to return it.” So the Zheng people handed the pearl to the Chu people, and then walked with their heads down while admiring the wooden box.
The Chu man stood there very embarrassed with the returned pearl. He had expected the buyer to appreciate his pearls, but to his surprise, the beautiful outer packaging overshadowed the brilliance of the pearls inside the box, leaving the Chu man in tears and laughter.
Similar Idioms:
- 舍本逐末
