Literal Translation: To draw a dragon and add eyes.
Meaning: To add a key item that enhances something.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period, there was a Chinese painter called Zhang Sengyao. Once, he visited a temple and painted four dragons on the wall, but he gave none of them eyes. Onlookers thought that this was odd, and asked him why he did not painted in the eyes. He answered: "Eyes are crucial for dragons, with the eyes painted in, the dragons would fly away." Nobody believed his words. So Zhang Sengyao took up his brush and added eyes to two of the dragons. No sooner had he finished than the two dragons flew into the sky amid a thunderstorm. The two other dragons without eyes remained as paintings on the wall.
"Drawing the Dragons' Eyes" is an idiom that is used to describe how, when painting, writing or speaking, the addition of just one or two key brushstrokes, sentences, words or phrases could enhance the content.
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