Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals: #26 Skilled and Magical Craftsmanship (庖丁解牛)
Skilled masters have a deeper understanding on the subject and use the tool well.
This article is one of the “Chinese Idiom Stories for Software Professionals” series.
The Story
written by Zhuangzi, a famous philosopher, ~300BC.
In ancient China, once a Lord was watching the cook Ding who was dissecting an ox. Up went his hand, and down went the knife, cutting it just right with dexterous movements. The sounds were all in cadence, resembling classic dance and rhythm. The Lord was very impressed and praised Ding: “Your skill is excellent! How did you achieve such perfection?”
The cook answered: “When I first began to cup up an ox, I saw nothing but the whole ox. Three years later, I no longer saw the whole ox. Now I deal with the ox in my mind instead of my eyes. The senses stop functioning, but the mind is activated. Following the ox’s natural veins, my knife slips through openings between its muscles and slides through crevices in the joints. I take advantage of what is already there. The knife has never hesitated at the juncture of blood vessels, not to mention the big bones.”
The cook continued: “The knives of others become blunt after being used for a short time, whereas I have used my knife for 19 years and slaughtered nearly 1,000 oxen, and it is still as sharp as a new one. However, when I come across a complicated structure, I would be cautious and conscientious and dare not be the least negligent. I cut swiftly but lightly with great concentration and care.”
After hearing this, the lord said: “Wonderful talk! I have learned the way of nurturing life.”
Meaning
This idiom is used to describe someone who can do his work with magically skilled craftsmanship just like the cook Ding. Such a person is highly respected by people due to his professionalism.
Examples in Software Development
I learned Web Test Automation in 2005 (when I was a senior contractor Java programmer). It took me about two years to really master it. Along the way, I created tools such as TestWise and BuildWise (both available in free mode), which help develop/debug/execute automated tests much easier and quicker. Since then, I have been conducting automated testing for web apps the same way, with only minor changes:
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