叶公好龙 (yè ɡōnɡ hǎo lónɡ)

Words	Meaning	Recording
cónɡ qián 从前	once upon a time
xǐ huān 喜欢	to be fond of
diāo kè 雕刻	to sculpture, to carve
tīnɡ shuō 听说	to hear
ɡǎn dònɡ 感动	to move, to affect
tàn wànɡ 探望	to pay a visit to
cānɡ bái 苍白	pale
táo pǎo 逃跑	to flee, to run away

从前有位叶公，特别喜欢龙。他屋内的梁、柱、门、窗，都请巧匠雕刻上龙纹，雪白的墙上也请工匠画一条条巨龙，甚至他家穿的衣服、盖的被子、挂的蚊帐上，也都绣上了活灵活现的金龙。方圆百里都知道叶公好龙。天上的真龙听说以后，很受感动，亲自下来探望叶公。巨龙把身子盘在叶公家课堂的柱子上，尾巴拖在方砖地上，头从窗户里伸进了叶公的书房。叶公一见真龙，顿时吓得面色苍白，转身逃跑了。

The story 叶公好龙 is about a man named Lord Ye who claimed to be fond of dragons but was scared out of his wits when a real one appeared. This idiom satirizes those who profess to like or support something, but are averse to it in actual practice.

e.g.

tāmen zhěnɡtiān shuō yào ɡǎiɡé, qíshí zhǐshì yèɡōnɡhàolónɡ.

他们整天说要改革，其实只是叶公好龙。

They talked about reform all day, but they are just scared of doing so.

yèɡōnɡhàolónɡde rén zǒnɡshì shuōde hé zuòde bùyízhì.

叶公好龙的人总是说的和做的不一致。

A person of “叶公好龙” often says one thing, and do another.

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