The dragon-slaying art

Zhu Pingman spent his entire fortune learning the art of dragon-slaying from Zhili Yi.

After three years, he mastered the skill — yet nowhere in the world could he find a dragon to slay. Thus, his supreme technique gathered dust in futility.

Allegorical Meaning

The “Supreme” That Serves Nothing

The dragon-slaying art symbolizes culturally exalted but contextually useless knowledge. Societies often idolize skills detached from reality. Zhu’s mastery earns him zero social utility — no dragons exist.

True value lies in alignment with natural needs, not artificial status.

Three Layers of Folly

• Learner’s Delusion: Wasted resources to chase empty prestige (“supreme skill”)
• Teacher’s Complicity: Profiting from teaching impossible/unneeded skills
• Society’s Pathology: Creating demand for “elite” but useless knowledge

Modern Manifestations

• Academic disciplines with no societal grounding
• Corporate “prestige projects” solving non-existent problems
• Influencer culture valuing visibility over substance