CHENGYU
叶公好龙(yè gōng hào lóng)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 汉·刘向《新序·杂事五》
MEANING
- Literal
- Lord Ye loves dragons
- Figurative meaning
- to profess love for something while fearing the real thing
ORIGIN STORY
Lord Ye of Chu was famous for his love of dragons: they were carved on his beams and painted on his walls. When a real dragon heard of this and came down to visit, Lord Ye fled in terror.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“a fair-weather fan”
EXAMPLES
他说喜欢传统文化，一让他学习就说没时间，真是叶公好龙。Tā shuō xǐhuan chuántǒng wénhuà, yī ràng tā xuéxí jiù shuō méi shíjiān, zhēn shì yè gōng hào lóng.HSK6
He claims to love traditional culture, but the moment he is asked to study it he is too busy — a real Lord Ye.
嘴上支持改革，动真格就反对，这不是叶公好龙吗？Zuǐ shàng zhīchí gǎigé, dòng zhēngé jiù fǎnduì, zhè bù shì yè gōng hào lóng ma?HSK6
Supporting reform in words but opposing real change — is that not Lord Ye loving dragons?
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the readings: 叶 is yè and 好 is hào (to love), not hǎo.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01