To neglect the fundamental and pursue the trivial; to abandon the root for the branch; to focus on minor details while ignoring the essential.
任何事业，如果只追求短期效益，而忽视长远规划和基础建设，那就是典型的损本逐末。
In any endeavor, if one only pursues short-term gains while neglecting long-term planning and foundational construction, that is a typical case of abandoning the root for the branch.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the early Sui Dynasty, Li E, an Imperial Censor of the Censorate, was skilled in writing and eloquent in speech.
He worried that people who only focused on ornate language and flowery rhetoric, influenced by the elaborate literary style of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, would be favored. He saw this as abandoning the fundamental and pursuing the trivial. He believed the imperial court was failing to select truly talented individuals.
His memorial, however, did not receive the attention it deserved.
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