Literally, the Chinese idiom画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) means "to draw a snake and add feet to it". It is used as a metaphor to extra unnecessary behaviors. It tells us that there is no need to overdo something. In the state of Chu, there was a family offering sacrifices to ancestors, and many people came to help. After the sacrifice, the host put a pot of wine on the table for the helpers and let them drink it separately. Several people looked at the wine pot and thought that there was not enough wine. It's not enough for each person to drink. It is more suitable for one person to drink. So, they discussed that it is better for one person to drink enough than for everyone just a bit. But who can drink it? Everyone argued, and someone suggested, "let us draw a snake on the ground. Whoever draws a snake on the ground first will get the pot of wine." Everyone agreed. One of them drew the snake very quickly. He finished it in a moment. He picked up the wine pot and was about to drink but found that others were still drawing. He was very proud and wanted to show it, so he took the wine pot and drew feet for the snake. At this time, the second man drew the snake and snatched the wine pot from his hand and said, "the snake has no feet, so you just want to add a foot to it. Why bother? Now I'm the second one to draw a good snake. I should drink this pot of wine. " With that, he took up the pot and drank all the wine. The man who added the foot to the snake, squatted on the ground, remorseful. How to use 画蛇添足: 喝汤还要拿筷子，你这是画蛇添足。 (hē tānɡ hái yào ná kuài zi, nǐ zhè shì huàshétiānzúā) Why do you drink soup with chopsticks? This is like adding feet to a snake. 去海南旅游还要带着羽绒服，你这是画蛇添足。 (qù hǎinán lǚ yóu hái yào dài zhe yǔrónɡfú, nǐ zhè shì huàshétiānzú) Visiting Hainan with a down jacket, you are adding feet to a snake. # Our teachers # More than 10 years teaching experience Master Degree Certificate for teaching chinese as a foreign language   # About us # Founded in 2007 Chinese test and training center 200+ Chinese teachers 5000+ students  # Contact us# Name:fiona Phone number:021-52287809,13918358891 E-mail:info@mandarinmorning.com www.mandarinmorning.com If you are interested to join Mandarin Morning school or want more details about our services, scan the following QR code. ☟   Mandarin Morning Chinese test center attached to Confucius institute headquarters Authorized Test Center and Training Center for International Chinese Language Teacher Certificater 10 years+ ，200 teachers ，more 10000 students，200+companies  |
| FOLLOW US： |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |