螳臂当车(螳臂當車)

Prononciation: táng bì dāng chē Signification littérale: Mantis arm against the cart

Origine et Usage

In the Zhuangzi, Qu Boyu advises Yan He, who has just been appointed tutor to the violent heir of Duke Ling of Wei: 汝不知夫螳蜋乎？怒其臂以当车辙，不知其不胜任也 — do you not know the mantis, which raises its arms (螳臂) against (当) an oncoming cart (车) without knowing it cannot stop it? That is the excellence of its nature, and it is what will kill it. The image is not simply of futility — the mantis is brave and correct about the threat, and wrong only about the arithmetic. Hopeless opposition is the sense, and a trace of respect for the insect survives in it.

Exemples

Anglais: "One committee vote against a decision already taken elsewhere"

Chinois: 在早已定案的事情上投一张反对票