郑人买履 — “To criticize people who rigidly adhere to rules”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 郑人买履?

用来讽刺只信教条，不顾实际的人。

郑人买履 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to criticize people who rigidly adhere to rules”. Theories, or external standards, completely disregarding practical reality, personal experience, or actual conditions. Literally, “A Zheng man buying shoes”.

Frequency

郑人买履 Pronunciation and Pinyin

郑人买履 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
郑	zhèng	9	ancient Chinese state Zheng
人	rén	2	human being, person
买	mǎi	6	to buy
履	lǚ	15	tread, perform, shoes

Example Sentence with 郑人买履

他在学习中只知道死记硬背书本理论，从不结合实际情况灵活运用，简直是郑人买履。

In his studies, he only knows how to rote learn theories from books, never flexibly applying them to actual situations, which is just like the Zheng man buying shoes.

Origin and Story of 郑人买履

In ancient times, there was a man from the State of Zheng who wanted to buy a pair of shoes. He measured his feet at home and carefully noted down the size. He then went to a shoe shop in the market.

After finding a pair of shoes he liked, he was about to make the purchase when he suddenly realized he had left his measurements at home. He announced that he had forgotten the measurements and needed to go back home to retrieve them before buying the shoes. So, he turned back.

However, by the time he returned to the market, it had already closed. A person standing nearby asked him, 'You are buying shoes for yourself, why didn't you just try them on to check the size? Why insist on following those measurements?'

The man from Zheng replied, 'I would rather trust the measurements I took than believe my own feet are accurate.'