管中窥豹 — “To look at a leopard through a bamboo tube; to see a leopard through a pipe”
管中窥豹 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a partial and incomplete view of something, seeing only a small aspect of a larger whole, and thus failing to grasp the complete picture; to judge a whole by observing only a part of it”. Literally, “To look at a leopard through a bamboo tube; to see a leopard through a pipe”.
管中窥豹 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 管guǎn
- 中zhōng
- 窥kuī
- 豹bào
管中窥豹 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 管中窥豹
Origin and Story of 管中窥豹
Wang Xianzhi, the youngest son of the famous Eastern Jin calligrapher Wang Xizhi, was exceptionally intelligent. As he grew up, he too became an eminent calligrapher, often referred to with his father as 'the Two Wangs'.
One day, some of his father's students were playing a card game. Wang Xianzhi watched them and, despite being on the sidelines, started offering advice and making astute comments about the game. The students, however, just laughed at him, remarking, 'This young man is just like someone looking at a leopard through a bamboo tube, only catching a glimpse of a single spot!'
Upon hearing this, Xianzhi was deeply offended. He responded, 'I am ashamed when compared to Xun Fengqian in the distant past, and to Liu Zhenchang in more recent times.' With that, he flung his sleeves in indignation and left.
Both idioms, '管中窥豹' (seeing a leopard through a bamboo tube) and '拂袖而去' (to fling one's sleeves and leave in a huff), originated from this very anecdote.
Idioms Related to 管中窥豹
Synonyms of 管中窥豹
More idioms starting with 管
- guǎn管zhōng中kuī窥tiān天have a narrow or limited perspective
- guǎn管zhòng仲suí随mǎ马Respect and follow predecessors' experience
- guǎn管chéng城zi子traditional Chinese writing brush
- guǎn管chéng城máo毛yǐng颖writing brush
- guǎn管níng宁gē割xí席sever ties with a friend
- guǎn管xián弦fán繁zòu奏grand orchestral performance
- guǎn管tū秃chún唇jiāo焦exhaust oneself writing or speaking
- guǎn管kuī窥zhī之jiàn见a narrow and superficial view
- guǎn管kuī窥zhī之shuō说a narrow and biased view
- guǎn管kuī窥kuāng筐jǔ举narrow and superficial understanding
- guǎn管kuī窥wā蛙jiàn见a very narrow and limited view
- guǎn管kuī窥lí蠡cè测limited and superficial understanding
Questions about 管中窥豹
- What does 管中窥豹 mean?
- 管中窥豹 (guǎn zhōng kuī bào) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have a partial and incomplete view of something, seeing only a small aspect of a larger whole, and thus failing to grasp the complete picture; to judge a whole by observing only a part of it”.
- How do you pronounce 管中窥豹?
- 管中窥豹 is pronounced guǎn zhōng kuī bào in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 管中窥豹 literally mean?
- Literally, 管中窥豹 means “to look at a leopard through a bamboo tube; to see a leopard through a pipe”. It is used to mean “to have a partial and incomplete view of something, seeing only a small aspect of a larger whole, and thus failing to grasp the complete picture; to judge a whole by observing only a part of it”.
- Where does 管中窥豹 come from?
- 管中窥豹 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 管中窥豹?
- 从竹管的小孔里看豹，只看到豹身上的一块斑纹。比喻只看到事物的一部分，指所见不全面或略有所得。