Buying bamboo slips and pearls means buying a wooden box with pearls and returning it; The metaphor is improper choice, and the secondary things are better than the main ones. Next, I will share the translation and implication of classical Chinese for buying gifts and returning pearls.

In classical Chinese, Chu people sold their pearls to Zheng, Mulan's cabinet, smoked with cinnamon, decorated with pearls and jade, decorated with roses and jade. Zheng Guoren bought the jewelry box and returned the pearls. This can be said to be a best seller, but it is not a good pearl.

There was a jeweler in the State of Chu who went to the State of Zheng to sell jewelry. He carved a pearl box with precious Mulan, smoked it with spices made of cinnamon, and decorated it with jade, roses and jadeite. A man from Zheng bought this box, but returned the beads inside to him. It can be said that this jeweler is good at selling boxes, but not at selling jewelry.

The moral of "buying pearls" is that Zheng people only stare at exquisite wooden boxes and give up precious jewels. It can be seen that things must be clearly defined, and people who buy gifts and return pearls can't just pay attention to the appearance of things without seeing the essence of things. Only by seeing the essence of things clearly and prioritizing can we make appropriate choices. The idiom originally meant to put back the wooden box bought to hold pearls; The metaphor is improper choice, and the secondary things are better than the main ones.