A great artist painted a picture of two oxen fighting.
Everybody praised it.
“Look! How spirited they look, like live ones.”
The artist swelled with pride. He had the painting mounted on precious silk hung from jade rods, and put it away in a cedar chest. Rarely would he show it to anyone except those who could appreciate fine work.
One day he took the painting from the chest, unrolled it, and hung it in the sun, as a precaution against bookworms.
Just then a cowherd entered the courtyard, stood before the picture and smiled broadly.
”When oxen fight and but with their horns,” said the boy, “they keep their tails tucked between their rumps. Now in this picture, they’re flicking their tails about. I’ve never seen oxen fighting like that before.”
The great painter had no answer to this.
Allegorical Meaning
This parable dismantles the illusion of expertise divorced from lived experience, arguing that true understanding resides in practical engagement rather than abstract scholarship or artistic reputation.
The Limitation of Theoretical Knowledge
Renowned painter Dai Song creates a dramatic Bullfight scene showing bulls with raised tails. He prioritizes aesthetic convention (dignified tails = artistic tradition) over biological truth.
The tail represents scholarly detachment from reality. Elite art ignores ground-truth physiology.
Value of Practical Experience
The cowherd’s critique underscores the importance of practical experience over abstract learning. His laughter suggests that true wisdom often lies with those who have direct, hands-on involvement in the subject matter, rather than those who merely study it from afar.
Critique of Elitism in Intellectual Pursuits
By contrasting the esteemed artist with the common cowherd, the story subtly critiques intellectual elitism. It implies that intellectuals and experts should remain humble and open to insights from less conventional sources, as these can provide valuable perspectives that are otherwise missed.
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