凭虚公子 — “A fictitious or imaginary person or thing”
凭虚公子 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a fictitious or imaginary person or thing”. Something conjured out of nothing; a hypothetical creation without substance. Literally, “Young Master of Thin Air”.
凭虚公子 Pronunciation and Pinyin
凭虚公子 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 凭虚公子
Origin and Story of 凭虚公子
During the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Xiangru's famous rhapsody, 'Zixu Fu' (子虚赋), was deeply admired by Emperor Wu of Han.
The 'Zixu Fu' narrates a tale where the King of Chu dispatches a fictional character named Zixu (子虚, meaning 'nothingness' or 'imaginary') to visit the King of Qi. The King of Qi, along with his country's best hunters, accompanies Zixu on a hunting expedition. Zixu then endeavors to boast extensively about the grand hunting spectacles of the King of Chu to another fictional character, Mr. Wuyou (乌有, meaning 'non-existent' or 'nothing'), deliberately belittling the King of Qi. Mr. Wuyou promptly refutes Zixu's assertions, challenging his claims.
The idiom '凭虚公子' (Young Master of Thin Air) refers to these types of imaginary or hypothetical figures and concepts, signifying something that exists only in name or imagination, lacking any real substance or basis.
Idioms Related to 凭虚公子
More idioms starting with 凭
- píng凭jǐ几zhī之zhào诏Emperor's deathbed decree
- píng凭jī几jù据zhàng杖act arrogantly and disrespectfully
- píng凭chéng城jiè借yī一make a desperate last stand
- píng凭shān山fù负hǎi海backed by mountains and facing the sea
- píng凭hé河bào暴hǔ虎act recklessly without wisdom
- píng凭bái白wú无gù故for no reason at all
- píng凭kōng空niē捏zào造fabricate out of thin air
- píng凭kōng空yì臆zào造fabricate out of thin air
- píng凭shì轼páng旁guān观stand by as a spectator
- píng凭shì轼jié结zhé辙busy traffic, frequent comings and goings
- píng凭xiǎn险zuò作shǒu守defend by relying on strategic dangers
Recommended tools
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 凭虚公子
What does 凭虚公子 mean?
凭虚公子 (píng xū gōng zǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a fictitious or imaginary person or thing”.
How do you pronounce 凭虚公子?
凭虚公子 is pronounced píng xū gōng zǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 凭虚公子 literally mean?
Literally, 凭虚公子 means “Young Master of Thin Air”. It is used to mean “a fictitious or imaginary person or thing”.
Where does 凭虚公子 come from?
凭虚公子 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 凭虚公子?
凭：依托。比喻假设的人或事。