Meaning of the Idiom
pao zhuan yin yu（throw out a minnow to catch a whale）
During the Tang dynasty, there lived a man named Zhao Gu, who was a very talented poet. Zhao Gu’s poems were so well-written that even famous poets of his time enjoyed reading them.
At that time, in a place called Wu, there lived a man named Chang Jian, who also liked to write poems. Chang Jian greatly admired Zhao Gu’s literary talent, and longed to know him personally. One day, Chang Jian heard that Zhao Gu would be travelling to Wu. He knew that Zhao Gu would definitely go visit Ling Yan Temple during his trip, because this was a very famous place which everyone who came to Wu went to see. So Chang Jian went first to the temple, and on the wall which was set aside for guests’ comments and ideas, wrote two lines of poem.
When Zhao Gu saw the two lines of poetry on the temple wall, he could not help adding another two lines, because Chinese poems are always composed of at least four lines. And so Chang Jian achieved his goal. He said, “My poem is a brick, and Zhao Gu’s poem is jade, I layed a brick, and attracted jade!”
This idiom is now a polite expression often used when giving an opinion or delivering a speech. It means that what one is offering is somehow lacking, and one is in hopes that others will, seeing it, offer something that is better.
抛砖引玉
[pāo zhuān yǐn yù]，指抛出砖头，引回白玉；比喻用自己粗浅的东西（多指意见、文章），引出好的、珍贵的东西。
出自宋·释道原《景德传灯录·卷十·赵州东院从稔禅师》。
例句
我刚才是抛砖引玉，希望大家发表自己的高见。
以上只是个人的了一孔之见，权当抛砖引玉。
他在会议上先提出几点见解，抛砖引玉，希望大家发表更好的建议。
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