Describes writing or speech that is poorly composed, clumsy, or unskillful; refers to crude or unpolished literary works or speeches.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wen Zisheng composed the 'Stele Inscription for Hanling Mountain Temple'. Yu Xin, a famous poet and official from the Southern Dynasties, read Wen's work and made a rubbing of it.
When people from the Southern Dynasties asked Yu Xin for his opinion on the literati in the North, he replied: 'Only that single stone from Hanling Mountain is worth conversing with. Xue Daoheng and Lu Sidao barely know how to hold a brush. As for the rest, it's nothing but donkey braying and dog barking, just noise to my ears.'
This idiom is used to describe writing or speech that is crude, unskillful, or poorly composed.