To add a crucial or brilliant touch that brings something to life, highlights its essence, or makes it vivid and powerful.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
Zhang Sengyao was a renowned painter during the Liang Dynasty. One day, the emperor commanded him to paint dragons on the walls of Anle Temple in Jinling. Soon, two incredibly lifelike dragons graced the temple walls.
However, the emperor noticed that neither dragon had eyes and inquired about this. Zhang Sengyao replied, “If I add eyes, they will fly away.”
People found this hard to believe, and the emperor insisted he complete the eyes. Zhang Sengyao reluctantly dotted the eyes of one of the dragons.
Instantly, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and that dragon truly soared into the sky. The other two dragons, whose eyes remained undotted, stayed on the wall.