Chengyu

画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú)

Characters

画 huà: Draw

蛇  shé: Snake

添 tiān: Add

足 zú: Feet

Story

During the 戰國時代 Warring States period, a 楚 (Chǔ) state official was at a shrine worshipping his ancestors.  When the worship ceremony was over, he decided to give the pot of wine to his servants.  Since the pot of wine was not enough to share, the servants decided to have a competition.  They agreed that the first person who can draw a snake would win the pot of wine.  

The official counted down, “three, two, one!”  The servants hurriedly grabbed their twigs and began to draw snakes with the dirt on the ground.  One pompous man finished first.  Upon seeing that the others were still drawing, he exclaimed, “Ha, you are all slow!  I can even draw feet on my snake!”  While Pompousman drew the feet, a witty man just finished and yelled, “Done!  I am the first one to draw a snake!”  Turning to Pompousman, Wittyman remarked, “Snakes don’t have feet so you didn’t even draw a snake.”

The official agreed and rewarded Wittyman with the pot of wine.  Wittyman then joyously drank the wine as Pompousman watched bitterly from a distance.Lesson

Since the snake drawing contest was judged on speed rather than quality, I would just draw a line and be done with it.  Anyways, Pompousman could of won, but he added feet to his snake and turned it into a salamander – literally, 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) or to draw feet on snake.  Thus, 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) means to do something unnecessarily or to overdo things – similar to “to gild the lily”.

This proverb actually relates to China’s former one-child policy.  Specifically, the increased wealth of Chinese parents coupled with their desire to provide the best to their only child has lead to the Little Emperor Effect (1).  In other words, the children were pampered like “little emperors”.  Toys, private lessons, and goat milk – parents gave their children experiences they themselves were denied.  In fact, it was common for half of a family’s income to be spent on the only child – 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) indeed (1).

Research

Brand management is the use of research and methods to affect market brand perception.  Particularly, brand management is central to luxury fashion brands.  Look, a Prada shirt sprinkled with banana logos can cost over $1 000.  Similarly, a LVMH shirt with a checkerboard design can cost nearly as much.  My mind immediately screams 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú).  However, mere commoners like myself need time to examine the reasons behind such outrageous prices.

One reason is individuality.  That is, luxury fashion brands cater to the wealthy elite who prefer to feel special (2).  Hence, a strong brand identity is achieved with a recognizable style, exclusivity, and premium pricing – exactly what Prada wants to achieve with their block-heeled loafers and LVMH with their croc-skin bags (2).  Interestingly, this means that looking unusual and cool is more important than beauty in luxury fashion. 

Another reason is the need to form relationships.  Specifically, people can form emotional attachments with gifts, collectibles, and of course, brands (3, 4, 5).  Like human relationships, love and affection may underlie such attachments (6).  In addition, these attachments fulfill a sense of happiness, security, and comfort to the consumer (6).   Thus, luxury fashion brands are shifting their marketing focus from acting as status symbols to forming long-term relationships with their target markets (7).  Notably, such relationships foster price inelasticity and loyalty (6).  Indeed, when love is involved, that thousand dollar banana shirt does not seem as pricey.     

Together, the need to feel special and loved are two innate forces that drive people to buy luxury fashion goods.  It is no wonder companies like Prada and LVMH have spent millions to build an extravagant brand to cater only to a select few.  Nonetheless, I still think 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) suits that banana shirt.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-4648 size-full" src="https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280.jpg" alt="Two Rainbow Lorikeets displaying the human need for love and affection" width="1280" height="853" srcset="https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280.jpg 1280w, https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280-150x100.jpg 150w, https://ancientchengyu.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rainbow-lorikeet-334204_1280-225x150.