To draw cakes to sate one's hunger
To fantasize to console oneself; also refers to items with undeserving reputations serving no purpose when used
Negative
这类改革可能只是画饼充饥而已 | Zhè lèi gǎigé kěnéng zhǐshì huàbǐngchōngjī éryǐ
This kind of reform is nothing more than false hope
[Source]
画饼充饥无法解决问题，让我们立即行动吧！ | Huàbǐngchōngjī wúfǎ jiějué wèntí, ràng wǒmen lìjí xíngdòng ba!
Fantasizing isn't going to resolve problems. Let's act immediately!
[Source]
None
None
Some sources note that 卢毓 suggested that the emperor develop a way to test candidates' ability and that the emperor heeded this advice
《三国志》(Sān Guó Zhì) by 陈寿 (Chén Shòu). The historical text covers the events of the end of the Eastern Hàn Dynasty (东汉, Dōng Hàn, 25 - 220) and the Three Kingdoms period (220 - 280)
During the Three Kingdoms Period (三国时期 | sān guó shí qī | 220 - 280), there lived an honest and erudite man named 卢毓 (Lú Yù). 卢毓 was a government official in the state of 魏 (Wèi), and the emperor valued him immensely.
Soon, the emperor promoted 卢毓, and that meant that 卢毓 's old position needed to be filled. However, the emperor didn't know the best person to fill it. At the time, candidates were often chosen based off of recommendations, but because everyone mutually praised each other and because many were more suited to talking about theory, many "excellent" men were quickly found to be unsuitable for their new jobs. As such, the emperor asked 卢毓 to name a few quality candidates.
When he did this, however, he instructed that 卢毓 not just make a recommendation based of off reputation alone, saying, "Reputation is like drawing cakes to sate one's hunger — it cannot be eaten!"
卢毓 heeded these instructions carefully and suggested a replacement.