Tā de yǎnjiǎng wánquán shì zhàoběn-xuānkē, háowú gǎnrǎnlì.
His speech was just a recitation from his notes - utterly flat.
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Found in Guan Hanqing's Yuan-dynasty zaju 《西蜀梦》: 'no need for monks chanting spells or Daoists 宣科' - 宣科 originally meant Daoist priests reading liturgical texts aloud. The idiom carries that mechanical-recitation flavor.
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Always negative - a complaint about teachers, lecturers, officials, or trainers who recite without thinking, engaging, or adapting. Common in education and workplace criticism.
