目無全牛

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Chinese

eye; item; section
eye; item; section; list; catalogue; table of contents; (taxonomy) order; goal; name; title
 
not have
all; whole; entire
all; whole; entire; every; complete
 
ox; cow; bull
trad. (目無全牛)
simp. (目无全牛)
Literally: “there are no whole cows in sight”.

Etymology

From Zhuangzi, chapter 3 (《莊子·養生主》):

所見之後未嘗全牛 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
所见之后未尝全牛 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE, translation from The Complete Works Of Chuang Tzu (2013), by Burton Watson
Shǐ chén zhī jiě niú zhī shí, suǒjiàn wú fēi quán niú zhě. Sān nián zhīhòu, wèicháng jiàn quán niú yě.
When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox.

Pronunciation


Idiom

目無全牛

  1. supremely skilled