Futile effort

  • Yuán Mù Qiú Yú (缘木求鱼)

    Basic Information Chinese Idiom: 缘木求鱼Pinyin: yuán mù qiú yúLiteral Meaning: Climb a tree to catch fish.Figurative Meaning: Try to achieve a goal by using wrong methods or taking the wrong direction, which is doomed to fail. Cultural Background This idiom comes from Mencius, one of the core classics of Confucianism. It adopts a vivid…