The Handan Walker
Tradition has it that more than 2,000 years ago, there lived a young man in the Shouling area of the State of Yan. As his name is not known, we just call him the Shouling young man.
He lacked self-confidence and was perpetually dissatisfied with himself, always feeling inferior to others. He would imitate whatever he saw, but he never stuck to one thing long enough to master it. His family advised him to change, but he dismissed their concerns. His neighbors sneered at him, saying he was like a bear picking corn—gaining one only to drop another.
Over time, he even began to doubt his own way of walking, finding it increasingly clumsy and awkward.
One day, he overheard travelers praising the graceful walk of the people in Handan. This struck a chord with him, and he hurried to ask for details. To his surprise, the travelers just laughed and walked away.
Tormented by curiosity, he eventually sneaked away from home and traveled to the distant city of Handan to learn their way of walking.
Upon arrival, he was dazzled by the novelty of everything. He tried to imitate the lively walk of children, the steady gait of the elderly, and the elegant sway of women. In less than half a month, he had become so confused that he forgot how to walk altogether. Having spent all his money, he had no choice but to crawl back home.
This story comes from "Autumn Floods" in The Works of Zhuangzi. The idiom "imitating the walk of Handan" (or "The Handan Walker") is used to criticize the blind and mechanical imitation of others, which results not only in failure to learn their strengths but also in the loss of one's own original abilities.