黄钟毁弃瓦釜雷鸣

huáng zhōng huǐ qì wǎ fǔ léi míng

lit. earthern pots make more noise than classical bells

good men are discarded in favor of bombastic ones (idiom)

黄

huáng

yellow

钟

zhōng

handleless cup; goblet

毁

huǐ

variant of 毀|毁[hui3]

弃

qì

to abandon

瓦

wǎ

roof tile

釜

fǔ

kettle

雷

léi

thunder

鸣

míng

to cry (of birds, animals and insects)