To know something like the back of one's hand; to have a thorough and complete understanding of something.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
In ancient times, emperors would build ancestral temples. Inside these temples, ancestral tablets were arranged according to the rank of the forefathers.
Whenever there were major undertakings or festivals, the emperors would visit the temple to worship their ancestors in a ritual known as the 'Luo' ceremony.
Many people did not understand the intricacies of the Luo ceremony and sought advice from Confucius.
Confucius, believing that the ancestral temple of the State of Lu had deviated from the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, chose not to discuss it directly. Instead, pointing to his palm, he stated, 'Those who truly understand the Luo ceremony will be able to govern the state with perfect clarity, as if everything is laid out in the palm of their hand.'