What does it mean to cut a chicken with a cow knife?

According to the Analects of Confucius, Confucius went to Wucheng, a small city in the state of Lu, and his student Ziyou was named Yan Yan, who was an official in Wucheng at that time.

Confucius heard the sound of playing the piano and singing. He smiled and said, "Why kill chickens with a knife that kills cows?" It means that there is no need to implement etiquette and music education to govern such a small place. Unexpectedly, Ziyou replied, "I once heard your teacher say,' A gentleman will love others when he learns etiquette and music, and a villain will be easy to use when he learns etiquette and music." Confucius said, "Students, what Yan Yan said is right. What I just said was just a joke with him."

"How can you kill a chicken with an ox knife?" comes from The Analects of Confucius. This sentence has become a very popular idiom, which means that you don't have to waste great talents in doing small things.

How to kill a chicken with an ox knife

Pronunciation Shā j and Yā n yò ng niú dā o

Explain why you should kill a chicken with an ox knife. It is a metaphor that it doesn't take much effort to do small things.

The source of The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo: "The martial city of the son, the sound of string songs. The master smiled and said,' You can't cut a chicken with an ox knife.' "

example" ~ "? If you don't bother to wait for me, I will cut off the heads of the princes, such as taking things from the bag. (Ming Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the fifth time)