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.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
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.