During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a skilled archer. One day, while practicing on the drill ground, he drew a large crowd. His shots were so accurate that the onlookers cheered with excitement, and he became very proud of his skill. However, among the crowd, an old oil peddler only nodded indifferently, which hurt the archer's pride.
"Can you do this?" the archer asked the old man.
"No, I cannot," replied the peddler.
"What do you think of my skill, then?"
"It is just acceptable, nothing extraordinary. Your accuracy comes from persistent practice. That is all."
"What can you do, then?" the archer challenged.
The old man said nothing. He placed a gourd bottle on the ground and covered its mouth with a copper coin. Then, he scooped a ladle of oil from his large jar, held it high, and began to pour. A thin thread of oil flowed from the ladle directly through the hole in the coin and into the bottle. Everyone watched in amazement.
But the old man said, "This is nothing special. I can do it only because I have practiced it a great deal." With these words, he left.
Later, people used this story to illustrate the meaning of the phrase "Practice makes perfect."