鄭人買履

See also: 郑人买履

Chinese

surname man; person; people buy shoe; to tread on
trad. (鄭人買履) 鄭 人 買 履
simp. (郑人买履) 郑 人 买 履

Etymology

From Han Feizi (《韓非子·外儲說左上》):

鄭人有且置履者，先自度其足而置之其坐，至之市而忘操之。已得履，乃曰：“吾忘持度，反歸取之。”及反，市罷，遂不得履。人曰：“何不試之以足？”曰：“寧信度，無自信也。” [Classical Chinese, trad.]
郑人有且置履者，先自度其足而置之其坐，至之市而忘操之。已得履，乃曰：“吾忘持度，反归取之。”及反，市罢，遂不得履。人曰：“何不试之以足？”曰：“宁信度，无自信也。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Han Feizi, circa 2nd century BCE
Zhèng rén yǒu qiě zhì lǚ zhě, xiān zì duó qí zú ér zhì zhī qí zuò, zhì zhī shì ér wàng cāo zhī. Yǐ dé lǚ, nǎi yuē: “Wú wàng chí dù, fǎn guī qǔ zhī.” Jí fǎn, shì bà, suì bù dé lǚ. Rén yuē: “Hébù shì zhī yǐ zú?” Yuē: “Nìng xìn dù, wú zì xìn yě.” [Pinyin]
There once lived a man in the state of Zheng who was about to buy shoes. He had measured his feet beforehand, and placed the results on a chair. He forgot to take the mensural tool with him and reached the market. Having chosen the shoes he wanted, he said, 'I forgot to bring the mensural tool with me. I need to go home and take them.' But when he returned, the market was closed and he eventually did not get those shoes. People asked him, "Why did you not just try on the shoes?" To this he replied, "I would rather believe the measurements, I don't trust myself."

Pronunciation

Idiom

鄭人買履

  1. (sarcastic) a person who rigidly adheres to rules and regulations (or established convention), while at the same time ignoring the reality of a situation
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