熟能生巧 — “Proficiency gives birth to skill”

Once upon a time, there was a man named Chen Kangsu, also known as Yaozi, who was an exceptionally skilled archer, unmatched in the world. Because of this, he was extremely proud and often boasted about his abilities. “Ha, ha, ha, no one can match my archery skills. Is there anyone willing to compete with me?” His apprentices would respond, “Master, you are truly extraordinary; how could we possibly compare to you! Yes, we still have much to learn from you! Master, please perform another demonstration to broaden our horizons!” These young men, who wished to learn archery from Chen Yaozi, would utter complimentary words daily to please him.

One day, as Chen Yaozi was practicing archery with his apprentices in the courtyard, an old oil vendor happened to pass by and stopped to watch.

Chen Yaozi raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot ten arrows in a row, each hitting the bullseye. His apprentices clapped and cheered, and Chen Yaozi, feeling very proud, asked the old man, “What do you think?” The old man merely nodded slightly, without cheering.

Chen Yaozi was displeased and asked him impolitely, “Hey, old man, can you shoot arrows too?” “No.” “Then, was my archery not good?” “It was good, but it’s just an ordinary skill, nothing extraordinary.”

One of the apprentices interjected, “Old man, what are you saying? How dare you insult our master like that! Don't you know that no one can match our master's archery skills? You're clearly looking down on people!”

The old man replied, “Young man, don’t get angry first. I'm telling the truth. Your archery is indeed quite ordinary, nothing to boast about.”

The apprentice retorted, “Old man, judging by your words, you seem to be an expert. Why don't you show us a trick or two? If you're not convinced, let's have a contest. What's the use of just talking without demonstrating?”

The old man said, “Young man, I don't possess archery skills, but let me show you how I pour oil.”

The apprentice scoffed, “Pouring oil? Do we need an old man like you to demonstrate that? Who doesn't know how to pour oil? Don't joke around!”

The old man simply said, “You should watch first before commenting.” After saying this, the old man placed a gourd on the ground and then put a copper coin with a hole over its mouth. He then scooped up a ladle of oil, aimed carefully, and gently tilted the ladle. The oil flowed like a thin yellow thread, straight through the coin's hole and into the gourd. After pouring, not a single drop of oil touched the copper coin.

The old man humbly said to Chen Yaozi, “This is also just an ordinary skill; it’s the principle of practice makes perfect!”

Chen Yaozi felt greatly ashamed. From then on, he practiced archery even more diligently and never boasted about his skills again. Later, his character became as excellent as his archery.