Lu Yu was a learned man of integrity who served as a senior official in the period of Three Kingdoms (220-280).
Once, the emperor of Wei was trying to fill a government post, and was studying a list of famous names put forward by his officials. The emperor said, "I want Lu Yu to select the right person, rather than choosing one of the well-known but useless individuals on this list. Fame is just like a pancake drawn on the wall. You cannot eat it."
Lu Yu suggested the emperor conduct examinations to find the best candidate. From that time on, officials were appointed according to their real ability and Lu Yu's method of selection was widely praised.
At first the idiom meant unjustified fame, but it later came to mean satisfying oneself by imagining things, or consoling oneself with false hopes.
huà bǐng chōng jī
畫餅充饑
?????? 三國(guó)時(shí)期（220－280），有一個(gè)正直的文人叫盧毓，在魏國(guó)做大官。
?????? 一次宮中選拔人才，官員們推薦了許多有名的人，魏國(guó)的皇帝說：“讓盧毓來選人，我不要這些只有名聲而沒有真才實(shí)學(xué)的人。名聲就像畫在墻上的餅，不可以拿來吃?！?/p>
?????? 盧毓建議皇帝選拔和考試相結(jié)合。從此，皇帝根據(jù)個(gè)人的實(shí)際能力來任命官員。盧毓的方法得到了大家的稱贊。
?????? 成語“畫餅充饑”就來自于皇帝所說的話。最初，它指有名聲而沒本領(lǐng)。后來，人們用它來比喻以不切實(shí)際的空想來滿足自己。
