三国时期(220-280),有一个正直的文人叫卢毓 (Y*),在魏国做大官。
一次宫中选拔人才,官员们推荐了许多有名的人,魏国的皇帝说:“让卢毓来选人,我不要这些只有名声而没有真才实学的人。名声就像画在墙上的饼,不可以拿来吃。”
卢毓建议皇帝选拔和考试相结合。从此,皇帝根据个人的实际能力来任命官员。卢毓的方法得到了大家的称赞。
成语“画饼充饥”就来自于皇帝所说的话。一开始,它指有名声而没本领。后来,人们用它来比喻以不切实际的空想来满足自己。
选拔 select |
满足 satisfy |
结合 combine |
|
根据 according to |
任命 appoint |
称赞 praise |
|
空想 fanciness |
不切实际的 impractical |
真才实学 genuine ability and learning |
Draw a pancake to allay hunger-Feed on illusions
Lu Yu was a learned man of integrity in the period of Three Kingdoms (220-280), serving as a senior official.
Once the emperor was selecting talents for a post, officials recommended a lot of famous people. The emperor of Wei said, "I would like to let Lu Yu select the right person instead of those well-known but incapable ones. Fame is just like a pancake drawn on the wall. You cannot eat it."
Lu Yu suggested the emperor to combine examination with selection. From then on, officials were appointed according to their real ability. Lu Yu’s method for selection was widely praised.
The idiom came from what the emperor said. At first, it indicated enjoying a empty fame". Later, people use it to describe satisfying oneself by imagining things or consoling oneself with false hopes.