掩目捕雀

Origin and story

In the Hou Hanshu’s biography of He Jin, Chen Lin opposes bringing outside military forces into a court struggle against the eunuchs. He invokes an existing proverb about covering one's eyes to catch a sparrow: even a small creature cannot be secured by such self-deception, so how could affairs of state be settled that way? Chen warns that once armies gather, the strongest commander will dominate and the plan will invite disorder. He Jin does not listen.

The passage presents the bird-catching image as a proverb already in circulation. It does not identify an actual foolish bird catcher or narrate his attempt. Later the idiom criticizes proceeding as though ignoring an obstacle or danger could make it disappear.