Draft:Learning the Walk of Handan

Learning the walk of Handan (Chinese: 邯郸学步; pinyin: Hándān xué bù) is a Chinese proverb and idiom meaning to slavishly imitate others in a way that backfires, causing one to lose one’s own abilities or identity. The phrase originates from a story in the ancient text Zhuangzi in which a young man from the state of Yan travels to the city of Handan to learn the locals’ elegant way of walking, only to end up forgetting how to walk altogether and returning home crawling on all fours. The proverb is used to caution against blind imitation that leads to the loss of one’s original strengths. It remains a well-known idiom in Chinese culture and is often invoked in both historical literature and modern discourse to emphasize the importance of retaining one’s own character or methods while learning from others.

See also

• Zhuangzi