杀鸡焉用牛刀! You don’t need a meat cleaver (for slaughtering cattle) to kill a chicken!
As in many idioms, there is a story behind this commonly used Chinese expression. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BCE), the people enjoyed relative peace, freely discussing and teaching their ideas. Such a conducive environment nurtured the development of significant schools of philosophy, such as Legalism, Confucianism, and Taoism, which emerged during this era.
One day, Confucius (孔子) visited his disciple Zi You (子游) who became the governor of Wucheng (武城). As they were walking around, Confucius (an expert in court rituals) heard the sound of music typically played in imperial ceremonies. He smiled and said, “治理武城这个小地方，根本用不着礼乐。比如杀鸡，何必用宰牛的大刀!” (In governing a small district, there is no need for court music. It is like killing a chicken with a big knife used to slaughter cattle.) In other words, don’t overkill.
In the Shin Min Daily News review, the Chinese physician highlighted Professor KT Foo’s message: different treatments for different degrees of prostatic enlargement. Thirty percent of patients benefit from medication, while only 10% need surgical intervention. In patients with mild symptoms (60%), all the patients need is to learn to relax during micturition and lead a healthy lifestyle.
In the age of high technology, there is a tendency to rely on technology and not the basic clinical assessment and judgment skills. This tendency has resulted in over investigating, treating, and increasing the cost of medical care. We do not need to wield big knives for slaughtering cattle to treat early or straightforward diseases. What we need is good judgment (from experience and wisdom).
A prescribed cure can be worse than a disease. In medical practice, treatment can harm. Therefore, there is a need to treat the patient and do no harm, balancing what we need to do for the patient’s well-being and the potential adverse outcome of inadequate treatment. We can use the yin-yang symbol to remind us to balance our approach in problem-solving – what good we can do and what potential untoward consequences our actions can bring.
杀鸡焉用牛刀. Don’t overkill. Is this wisdom applicable in today’s Western – Ukraine – Russian war?
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
