During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Hong, a senior advisor to Eastern Wu, was renowned for his literary talent, excelling in poetry, rhapsodies, and skilled in both regular script and seal script calligraphy.
Zhang Hong admired the fine grain of nanmu and pomegranate wood pillows so much that he composed a poetic rhapsody about them. When the famous writer Chen Lin saw this work in the north, he eagerly showed it to others, exclaiming, "This was written by my fellow townsman Zhang Hong!" Later, Zhang Hong read Chen Lin's pieces "Rhapsody on the Armory" and "On Responding to Circumstances" and wrote to Chen Lin, praising them lavishly. Chen Lin replied, "Ever since I crossed the Yellow River to the north, it feels as though I've been cut off from the world. Few people here devote themselves to literary craft, so my work easily attracts attention, earning me an undeserved reputation—it's all hollow fame. Now, with Jingxing in Hebei, and you and Zhang Zhao in Jiangnan, it's like a minor shaman meeting a great shaman—his magic simply cannot work." Source: *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Biography of Zhang Hong"
"A minor sorcerer in the presence of a great one" means a lesser wizard, upon meeting a greater wizard, finds their magic ineffective. It is a metaphor for when one's abilities or talents are far inferior and cannot compare.
Source: Chen Lin (Han Dynasty), *Reply to Zhang Hong's Letter*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "小巫见大巫" came to describe a lesser wizard, upon meeting a greater wizard, finds their magic ineffective. It is a metaphor for when one's abilities or talents are far inferior and cannot compare.