雕虫小技

Pronunciation: diāo chóng xiǎo jì Literal meaning: Insect-script carving, a minor skill

Origin & Usage

雕虫 refers to carving in the insect script, and 小技 calls it a small (小) skill (技), one of the ornamental seal hands that a young scholar practised — fiddly, decorative work. Yang Xiong used it to dismiss the elaborate rhapsodies of his own youth, saying a grown man does not do such things. Li Bai later applied it to his own poetry in a letter seeking patronage. Both were being modest about work that was in fact very good, and the phrase has kept that job: it is used of one's own skills, and using it of someone else's is an insult.

Examples

English: "His expertise in trivial matters does not impress the seasoned professionals."

Chinese: 他在琐碎事务上的专长并未让经验丰富的专业人士感到印象深刻。