– by Han Fei (Pre-Qin Period)
There was a man from the state of Zheng who wanted to buy shoes.
He first measured his own feet, then left the measurement on his seat.
When he reached the market, he realized he had forgotten to bring it.
He had already picked out the shoes, then said:
“I have forgotten to bring the measurement.”
He went back home to get it.
By the time he returned, the market had ended, so he failed to buy the shoes.
Someone said to him:
“Why not just try the shoes on your feet?”
He answered:
“I would rather trust the measurement than trust my own feet.”
Note
This fable comes from Han Feizi, written by Han Fei, the most important Legalist philosopher in the Pre-Qin period.
This idiom is now widely used to describe people who stubbornly cling to fixed rules, written measurements, or old conventions, ignoring real-life situations and common sense.
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