5 Ways to Use “Playing a Lute to a Cow” in Chinese

Have you come across the Chinese phrase “Playing the Lute to a Cow”? There’s quite an interesting story behind it. While learning Mandarin Chinese, I was amazed by the richness of proverbs and am excited to share this with you. So, are you ready to read about the idiom and see five practical usage applications?

Playing the lute to a cow 對牛彈琴 (duì niú tán qín) is the Chinese equivalent of “talking to a brick wall,” “falling on deaf ears,” “casting pearls before swine,” or “talking to a post.”

Idioms Origins

Playing the lute to a cow is a Chinese idiom that comes from the following story:

During the Warring States Period, there was a musician named Gongming Yi. He played the lute very well, and everyone enjoyed hearing him play.

One spring day, he brought his lute for a walk outside the city. While Gongming Yi was strolling about in the sunshine, he was in a great mood. The landscapes were breathtaking. As he took it all in, he noticed a cow eating grass. Suddenly, Gongming Yi wanted to play a piece for the cow.

He sat down in front of the cow and played an elegant piece of music. Despite Gongming Yi’s beautiful music, the cow kept its head bowed and continued to eat grass. After a while, Gongming Yi came up with an idea. He faced the cow and produced a series of strange noises. Some sounded like mosquitoes, others like a calf who has gotten lost. At this moment, the cow became attentive. It wagged its tail, perked up its ears, and started to listen.

Modern Usages

Since then, people have used 對牛彈琴 (duì niú tán qín), “playing music to a cow,” to describe two different situations. The first is trying to reason with someone who is unreasonable. The English equivalent is “talking to a brick wall.” It’s a complete waste of your time. The second use of 對牛彈琴 can be used to ridicule someone who speaks without considering their target audience. The English equivalent is “casting pearls before swine.”

Now you know 丟牛彈琴 can mean two different things depending on the context.

Let’s look at different uses of the proverb, and you can see from the English translation below if it falls under the meaning of “talking to a brick wall” or “casting pearls before swine.”

5 Ways to Use 對牛彈琴

1. If someone is being unreasonable and you are frustrated with them, you can say:
   不和你說了，簡直就是對牛彈琴!
   I don’t want to talk to you anymore; it’s like talking to a brick wall [playing a lute to a cow]!
   
2. If you are speaking to someone whose interests are different from yours, and they can’t understand you, you can say:
   我白花了一個上午的時間和他講電影藝術，簡直就是對牛彈琴！
   I spent all morning talking about the art of movies with him. It was like talking to a brick wall [playing a lute to a cow]!
   
3. Again, if you want to express the sentiment of laying pearls before a swine, you can see how 對牛彈琴 is used:
   今天無論是不是對牛彈琴，請大家全力演出就好。
   Today, no matter if you feel like you’re casting pearls before swine [playing a lute to a cow], please just try to give your best performance.
   
4. Here’s an example of using 對牛彈琴 to express frustration, similar to “talking to a brick wall” in English:
   對這些人講道理，無異對牛彈琴，得另想辦法才行。
   Trying to reason with these people is like talking to a brick wall [playing a lute to a cow]; there must be another way.
   
5. Lastly, here’s another example in Chinese of using 丟牛彈琴 to express casting pearls before swine:
   對老外介紹唐詩，可能會對牛彈琴，但也可能喜遇知音。
   Introducing Tang poetry to a foreigner is like casting pearls before swine [playing a lute to a cow]. However, it might be a bonding experience.

For more examples of 對牛彈琴 in Chinese, you can find many uses of the idiom in Traditional Chinese on the Taiwanese site National Academy for Educational Research. This site is an awesome resource for studying proverbs.

Have you ever felt that you’ve played a lute to a cow? For me, the expression is a fascinating one. Though I must admit, as an animal lover, I think this proverb underestimates a cow’s ability to appreciate music. According to a study conducted by the University of Pretoria, dairy cows who listened to the Moonlite sonata produced more milk and had lower stress levels. So maybe those ears aren’t as deaf as some might think.

Not finished reading? Take a look at The Frog in the Well to keep learning about Chinese idioms.