Casting Pearls Before Swine

Meaning: It's useless to explain principles to someone who doesn't understand them. It implies looking down on the other person. It is now also used to mock people for speaking without considering their audience. Story: During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the famous musician Gongming Yi played a very difficult song while facing a cow that was grazing. The cow ignored him and continued to eat grass. After careful observation, Gongming Yi realized that the cow couldn't understand the music at all, so he played a tune that sounded like mosquitoes, flies, and calf bleating. The cow immediately perked up its ears and listened. (See "Hongming Ji")