During the Northern Song Dynasty, a man named Chen Yaozi was an exceptional archer, unmatched in his region, which made him immensely proud. One day, while practicing in his garden and hitting the target nearly every time to the crowd's applause, an old oil peddler set down his load and watched with a dismissive air, barely nodding. The old man remarked to those nearby, "There's nothing remarkable about this!"
When Chen Yaozi heard this, he was deeply displeased and demanded, "Do you even understand archery? Is my skill not exceptional?" The old man smiled and replied, "Your archery is fine, and I cannot shoot myself. But it is nothing special—merely a matter of practiced hands." Chen Yaozi grew angrier, thinking, "Isn't this belittling my archery? How dare he speak so boldly—does he possess some supreme talent?" Just as he was about to question further, the old man calmly said, "From my skill in pouring oil, I can see this is true."
The old man calmly took out a gourd, placed a copper coin over its mouth, and scooped up a ladle of oil from the barrel. He then tilted the ladle, pouring the oil in a thin, straight stream through the square hole of the coin directly into the gourd. When the ladle was empty, the coin remained completely dry, not a single drop of oil on it. Looking up, the old man said to Chen Yaozhi, "I have no special skill—just practice makes perfect."
Chen Yaozi watched the old man pour oil with such practiced ease, understanding dawning on him. He smiled and escorted the old man out of his home.
Later, the idiom "Practice Makes Perfect" came to describe that with repeated practice and persistent effort, any task can be mastered with skill and know-how.
Source: *Ouyang Wenzhong Gong Wenji*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "熟能生巧" came to describe with repeated practice and persistent effort, any task can be mastered with skill and know-how.