Bù shàn shǐ chuán, xián gǎng qū; bùshàn xiězì, xián bǐ tū.

不善駛船嫌港曲, 不善寫字嫌筆禿。

Lit A bad boatman complains of the bends in the port; a bad calligrapher complains of the baldness of his writing brush.

Fig An incompetent person always tries to shift the blame elsewhere; “a poor workman blames his tools.”

Note [The first part is a later version of bù shàn cāo zhōu ér wù hé zhī qū; see also bù huì chēngchuán above and bù shì chēng chuánshǒu below.]

Topics BLAME COMPETENCE COMPLAINTS EXCUSES INCOMPETENCE