鄭zhèng人rén買mǎi履lǚ

What does 鄭人買履 (zhèng rén mǎi lǚ) mean?

鄭人買履 (zhèng rén mǎi lǚ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "the man from Zheng buying shoes." In use it means: Trusting a measurement more than direct experience. The man measured his foot at home, forgot the measurement at the market, and went home to get it rather than trying the shoes on. Rigid rules can make you blind to the obvious. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.

Literally: "the man from Zheng buying shoes."

The reading

The shoes were right there. His feet were right there. But the measurement was at home, and he trusted the piece of string more than his own toes. This is every organization that follows the policy manual when the answer is standing in front of them. The map is not the territory. Try the shoe on.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typechéngyǔ 成語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie猴 Year of the Monkey

Source Han Feizi 韓非子, Waichushuo 外儲說左上

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.