刻画无盐
【Source】 A New Account of the Tales of the World， compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (403-444) during the
Liu Song Dynasty (420-479).
【出处】南朝宋·刘义庆《世说新语·轻诋》：“周曰：‘何乃刻画无盐，以唐突西子也!’”
【Interpretation】 Wuyan was an ugly woman while Xishi was one of the four beauties in the Chinese history.
The idiom was used to indicate the inappropriateness of drawing a parallel between the ugliness and the beauty.
【释意】刻画：精细描摹、无盐：传说中的古代丑女，精细地描摹丑女无盐。比喻以丑比美，引喻比拟得不恰当。
Zhou Yi (269-322) was a statesman with high reputation at the beginning of the Dong Jin Dynasty (317-420). One day， one of his friends told him， “Many people think you and the official Yue have a lot in common.”
晋元帝时，周顗历任尚书左仆射，名望颇高。有一次他的朋友对他说：“好多人都说你像乐令”。
Zhou Yi asked， “Are you talking about the famous and capable General Yue Yi (birth and death years unknown) in the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC)” His friend replied， “No， not Yue Yi. It’s Yue Guang (？-304)， the courtier who advocates a simple lifestyle.”
周顗便问是不是战国时那个善用兵的名将乐毅，对方回答，“不是乐毅，是乐广，崇尚清淡的尚书令乐广。”
Hearing this， Zhou Yi got annoyed. He said conceitedly， “Why would you depict Wuyan as a beauty to offend Xishi？” The conversation between the two friends ended in displeasure.
周顗一听便不高兴了，他有些自负地说：“这真是精细地描绘无盐，而无端地冒犯西施呢!”结果与朋友不欢而散。
Wuyan was a famous ugly woman in the Warring States Period， and Xishi was one of the four beauties in ancient China. Zhou Yi implied that using someone like Yue Guang to describe himself was as inappropriate as putting the ugliness and the beauty in the same category.
无盐是战国时期的著名丑女，而西施是中国古代四大美女之一，周顗的言外之意，就是说把乐广那样的人来形容自己，简直就是以丑比美，不伦不类，后指代贬低了美好的人和事物。, http://www.100md.com
Liu Song Dynasty (420-479).
【出处】南朝宋·刘义庆《世说新语·轻诋》：“周曰：‘何乃刻画无盐，以唐突西子也!’”
【Interpretation】 Wuyan was an ugly woman while Xishi was one of the four beauties in the Chinese history.
The idiom was used to indicate the inappropriateness of drawing a parallel between the ugliness and the beauty.
【释意】刻画：精细描摹、无盐：传说中的古代丑女，精细地描摹丑女无盐。比喻以丑比美，引喻比拟得不恰当。
Zhou Yi (269-322) was a statesman with high reputation at the beginning of the Dong Jin Dynasty (317-420). One day， one of his friends told him， “Many people think you and the official Yue have a lot in common.”
晋元帝时，周顗历任尚书左仆射，名望颇高。有一次他的朋友对他说：“好多人都说你像乐令”。
Zhou Yi asked， “Are you talking about the famous and capable General Yue Yi (birth and death years unknown) in the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC)” His friend replied， “No， not Yue Yi. It’s Yue Guang (？-304)， the courtier who advocates a simple lifestyle.”
周顗便问是不是战国时那个善用兵的名将乐毅，对方回答，“不是乐毅，是乐广，崇尚清淡的尚书令乐广。”
Hearing this， Zhou Yi got annoyed. He said conceitedly， “Why would you depict Wuyan as a beauty to offend Xishi？” The conversation between the two friends ended in displeasure.
周顗一听便不高兴了，他有些自负地说：“这真是精细地描绘无盐，而无端地冒犯西施呢!”结果与朋友不欢而散。
Wuyan was a famous ugly woman in the Warring States Period， and Xishi was one of the four beauties in ancient China. Zhou Yi implied that using someone like Yue Guang to describe himself was as inappropriate as putting the ugliness and the beauty in the same category.
无盐是战国时期的著名丑女，而西施是中国古代四大美女之一，周顗的言外之意，就是说把乐广那样的人来形容自己，简直就是以丑比美，不伦不类，后指代贬低了美好的人和事物。, http://www.100md.com