Lu Yu was a learned man of integrity who served as a senior official in the period of Three Kingdoms (220-280).
Once, the emperor of Wei was trying to fill a government post, and was studying a list of famous names put forward by his officials. The emperor said, "I want Lu Yu to select the right person, rather than choosing one of the well-known but useless individuals on this list. Fame is just like a pancake drawn on the wall. You cannot eat it."
Lu Yu suggested the emperor conduct examinations to find the best candidate. From that time on, officials were appointed according to their real ability and Lu Yu's method of selection was widely praised.
At first the idiom meant unjustified fame, but it later came to mean satisfying oneself by imagining things, or consoling oneself with false hopes.
huà bǐng chōng jī
画饼充饥
三国时期（220－280），有一个正直的文人叫卢毓，在魏国做大官。
一次宫中选拔人才，官员们推荐了许多有名的人，魏国的皇帝说：“让卢毓来选人，我不要这些只有名声而没有真才实学的人。名声就像画在墙上的饼，不可以拿来吃。”
卢毓建议皇帝选拔和考试相结合。从此，皇帝根据个人的实际能力来任命官员。卢毓的方法得到了大家的称赞。
成语“画饼充饥”就来自于皇帝所说的话。最初，它指有名声而没本领。后来，人们用它来比喻以不切实际的空想来满足自己。
