郑人买履

Zhèng Rén Mǎi Lǚ

讽刺那些死守教条、不懂灵活变通的人。

Laughs at people who stick to rules so stubbornly they forget common sense.

cóngqiánzhèngguóyǒurénxiǎngshìchǎngshàngmǎishuāngxīnxiéchūménzhīqiánxiānyònggēncǎoshéngliànghǎoledejiǎocǎoshéngxiǎoxīnfàngzàijiādezishàng

dàoleshìtiāoláitiāozhōngkànzhōngleshuāngxiéshìkǒudàizhècáixiǎng:“zāoleliàngjiǎodecǎoshéngwàngzàijiāle!”

fàngxiàxiéjiùwǎngjiāpǎolecǎoshéngzàifǎnhuíshìchǎngděngchuǎnpǎohuíláitiānjīnghēileshìzǎojiùsànleshuāngxiémàigěibiérénle

pángbiānderéntīngshuōzhèshìxiàozhewèn:“mǎixiégěi穿chuānwèishénmezhíjiēyòngjiǎoshìshìne?”běnzhèngjīngshuō:“zhǐxiāngxìnliànghǎodechǐcùnxiāngxìndejiǎo。”

zhèshìchūhánfēizi》。“zhèngrénmǎijiùyòngláixiàoxiēzhǐhuìzhàozheběnzibànshìzhīdàolínghuóbiàntōngderén

Long ago, there was a man from the State of Zheng who wanted to go to the market to buy a new pair of shoes. Before leaving home, he carefully measured his feet with a piece of straw rope and set the rope on a chair.

At the market he found a pair of shoes he liked. But when he reached into his pocket, he gasped: “Oh no! I left the measuring rope at home!”

He put the shoes down and rushed home, grabbed the rope, and ran back. By the time he returned, panting, the sun had set, the market had closed, and someone else had bought the shoes.

A bystander laughed and asked, “You were buying shoes for your own feet — why didn't you just try them on?” The man answered seriously, “I only trust the measurement. I don't trust my own feet.”

The story comes from the Han Feizi. “A man of Zheng buys shoes” now teases anyone who follows the rulebook so blindly they forget common sense.