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English Translation

lit.: a group of blind men trying to describe an elephant
fig.: mistaking a part for the whole, draw conclusions from incomplete data

Breaking it down

1. 盲人: blind person
2. 摸: to feel
3. 象: elephant

Source: Google Image Search

Story in Chinese

Classical Chinese

昔印度有瞽者四，相友善。然各自命为智者，人亦因以智者目之。一日，四瞽者立谈道左，有声跫然而至，询诸人，知其为象也。其一人曰：“象之形究何若，吾辈向者徒事臆测，今日可实验而知矣。 ”众皆曰：“善。”于是相继而至象前，扪其体以测其形。四瞽者：一长而伟，立于象侧，扪其身，上下左右，摩挲殆遍，觉坦然一片也。 一短而小，扪象之足。第三人握象鼻。第四人仅触象齿。既而各举象之形以相告。长而伟者曰：“象之形殆如墙，广而平，岸然而高者也。”短小者进而斥之曰：“象之体若树干。汝以为墙，不亦谬乎！”第三人曰：“象之形，非墙，非树，有类水管。”第四人前致词：“汝三人何其各逞己见，而比拟不伦也！夫象，其润如玉，触手可爱，直一长梃耳。”四瞽者辩，纷呶不已；旁观者皆大笑。

Modern Chinese

以前印度有四个盲人，互相友好。但（他们）各自认为（自己）是聪明的人，人们也因此用（看）聪明人的眼光看他们。
一天，四个盲人在道路旁边站立着聊天，有脚步声传来，（他们）向旁人询问，知道那是大象。
其中一个人说：“大象的形状到底是什么样，我们这种人以前只做主观想象，现在可以实际体验而了解了。 ”众人都说：“好。”于是依次到象的面前，摸它的身体来推测它的形状。 四个盲人：一个高而伟岸，站在象的旁边，摸它的身体，上下左右，差不多摸遍全身，觉得一片都是平整宽广的样子。 一个又矮又小，摸象的脚。第三个人握着象的鼻子。第四个人只摸了象的牙齿。
之后各自说出象的形状来告诉别人。又高又伟岸的人说：“象的外型大概像墙，宽广而平坦，非常高大。”矮小的人上前反驳他说：“象的身体像树干。你认为像墙，不也是错误的吗？”第三个人说：“象的外貌，不是墙，不是树，而是水管。”第四个人上前说：“你们三个多么卖弄自己的意见啊，但比喻得也不像。 象，它像玉一样润泽，手摸上去（感觉）可爱，只不过（像）一根长棍罢了。”四个人争吵，争论不停；旁观的人都大笑。

Source: baike.baidu.com

Story in English

There once were four blind people from India, who were good friends with each other. But they each thought that they were smart people, and so others also viewed them as such.
One day, the four blind people stood by the road and were chatting, when they heard footsteps coming closer. They asked the surrounding people and found out that it was an elephant. One of the people asked: "How does an elephant look like, being blind means we can only subjectively think of how it looks like, but now we can actually experience and understand it."
Everyone said "Alright." So they went to the elephant and touched its body. One was tall and touched its body and felt that it was glat and broad. One of the men was small and so felt the elephant's foot. The third held the elephant's nose. The fourth only felt the elephant's teeth.
Afterwards, they told the others about the shape of the elephant
The tall person said: "The elephant's appearance is probably like a wall, broad and flat, very tall." The short person disagreed and said: "The elephant's body is like a tree trunk. You think it is like a wall, isn't that wrong?" The third person says: "The elephant is neither like a wall, nor like a tree trunk, but rather like a water pipe." The fourth person came forth and said: "You three are showing off your opinions, but they are not correct. The elephant is as smooth as jade, it feels like a long stick."
The four blind people were arguing without end, whilst the people around them all laughed out loud.

Translation by Celine Li

Usage

不了解事情的前因后果，总是去猜测，就像盲人摸象，解决不了问题。