諺語 · a single proverb
畫餅充飢
Simplified: 画饼充饥
What does 畫餅充飢 (huà bǐng chōng jī) mean?
畫餅充飢 (huà bǐng chōng jī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "drawing a cake to satisfy hunger." In use it means: Offering something purely imaginary as a solution to a real problem. The picture of food does not fill the stomach, and the promise of action does not replace the action itself. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Goat.
Literally: "drawing a cake to satisfy hunger."
The reading
The presentation was beautiful. The slides were perfect. The strategy deck had thirty pages of cake. Nobody ate. Plans that never become actions are drawings of food: pleasant to look at, impossible to live on. At some point, someone has to close the laptop and turn on the oven.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志, Wei Shu 魏書 (Cao Rui's analogy)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wealth, Work & Diligence, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 畫餅充飢 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 畫餅充飢 (huà bǐng chōng jī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志, Wei Shu 魏書 (Cao Rui's analogy). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 畫餅充飢?
In Mandarin it is huà bǐng chōng jī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 畫餅充飢 aloud in Mandarin.