During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius, already in his sixties, tirelessly traveled from state to state with his disciples, hoping to gain an audience with feudal lords and promote his political ideals.
Yet after visiting several states, Confucius still had not found a ruler willing to employ him. He and his disciples, including Zilu, could only wander from place to place. Along the way, they lost their way, ran out of food, and nearly met with harm—a journey filled with hardship and exhaustion.
One day, as they trekked through the mountains and wilderness, Zilu suddenly fell behind for some unknown reason.
By then, it was already dark. Zilu grew very anxious. Spotting an old farmer weeding in the field, he approached and asked, "Have you seen my teacher?" The farmer gave Zilu a cold look and said, "You who neither toil with your limbs nor tell the five grains apart—how can you call anyone a teacher?"
After saying this, the old farmer lowered his head and continued weeding. Zilu realized he had been too rash, so he stood respectfully to the side. Seeing Zilu's humility and good manners, the farmer invited him home as a guest, slaughtered a chicken to entertain him, and that night, Zilu stayed at the farmer's house.
The next day, Zilu caught up with Confucius and his party and told Confucius about this. Confucius said, "This must be a cultivated hermit."
Confucius wanted to speak with the old farmer, so he and Zilu returned to find him, but the old man was already gone from home and nowhere to be found.
Later, people used the idiom "Four Limbs Unused, Five Grains Unknown" to describe someone detached from labor or practice, lacking any practical knowledge or skills.
Source: *The Analects*, Chapter "Weizi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "四体不勤，五谷不分" came to describe how someone detached from labor or practice lacks any practical knowledge or skills.