买椟还珠 | value the superficial over the essential

mǎi买dú椟huán还zhū珠

To buy the casket and return the pearls; to show poor judgment by valuing the superficial over the essential; to make a foolish choice.

小明只看到了新手机的外观，却没有仔细研究其性能，结果买了一部功能不佳的手机，真是买椟还珠啊。

Xiao Ming only looked at the new phone's appearance but didn't carefully research its performance, resulting in buying a phone with poor functions. What a classic case of buying the casket and returning the pearl!

Era:

Ancient

Frequency:

Synonym:

反裘负薪、本末倒置、舍本逐末

Antonym:

去粗取精

Story:

During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a merchant from the State of Chu who specialized in selling jewelry. One day, he went to the State of Qi to peddle his wares.

To ensure good business and popular sales, he specifically used precious wood to create many small boxes. He meticulously carved and decorated these boxes, making them very exquisite and beautiful, and even made them emit a fragrant scent. Then, he placed the jewels inside these boxes.

A man from the State of Zheng saw the jewel box, which was both refined and attractive. After inquiring about the price, he bought one. He then opened the box, took out the precious jewel, and returned it to the merchant.

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