Chinese Idiom of the Week #6

叶公好龙 Yègōnghàolóng Lord Ye Good Dragon

During the time of Confucius there was a rich man named Lord Ye. He loved dragons so much he painted them everyday. In fact his whole house was covered in dragon paintings, wall hangings, door paintings, dragon shaped pillars and many similar decorative items. His abode became a world of dragons.

Hearing about Lord Ye's love and adoration of dragons the Red Dragon decided to look on from the heavens. Seeing all the beautifully drawn pictures of dragons the Red Dragon flew down to visit Lord Ye since he appeared to be such a friend of dragons and to express his gratitude.   

When the dragon arrived Lord Ye was terrified and ran away. He left his house forever leaving behind a very confused dragon.

Despite saying he loved dragons when he finally met a real dragon he was in fact terrified and his hypocrisy became glaringly apparent.

Are we who we say we are?

Wannabe? Poser? Or maybe something worse? Who do we say we are?

So whatever you say you are, you better be careful. What you say about yourself more often then not, may come true. So be prepared for it.