一纸空文 Yī zhǐ kōng wén A piece of paper

Explanation

「一纸空文」指的是没有实际意义的文书或承诺，仅仅是写在纸上，没有实际兑现或无法兑现。

“A piece of paper” refers to a document or promise that has no practical significance. It is simply written on paper and cannot be actually fulfilled or is not intended to be fulfilled.

Origin Story

从前，有一个县令，他为了自己的政绩，决定修建一座新城墙。他召集百姓开会，承诺会拨款修建城墙，并签署了一份修建城墙的文书。百姓们都非常高兴，因为他们盼望已久的新城墙终于要修建了。他们都积极地参加了修建城墙的工作，每天辛苦地搬运砖瓦，日夜不停地劳作。可是，过了很长时间，县令还是没有拨款，更没有派人来监督工程。百姓们终于明白了，县令所说的修建城墙，只是一纸空文，根本不会兑现。他们都感到很失望，也对县令的欺骗感到愤怒。后来，百姓们就再也不相信县令的话了，他们认为，县令就是个只会说空话的人。

cóng qián, yǒu yī gè xiàn lìng, tā wèi le zì jǐ de zhèng jì, jué dìng xiū jiàn yī zuò xīn chéng qiáng. tā zhào jí bǎi xìng kāi huì, chéng nuò huì bō kuǎn xiū jiàn chéng qiáng, bìng qiān shǔ le yī fèn xiū jiàn chéng qiáng de wén shū. bǎi xìng mén dōu fēi cháng gāo xìng, yīn wèi tā men pàn wàng yǐ jiǔ de xīn chéng qiáng zhōng yú yào xiū jiàn le. tā men dōu jī jí dì cān jiā le xiū jiàn chéng qiáng de gōng zuò, měi tiān xīn kǔ dì bān yùn zhuān wǎ, rì yè bù tíng dì láo zuò. kě shì, guò le hěn cháng shí jiān, xiàn lìng hái shì méi yǒu bō kuǎn, gèng méi yǒu pài rén lái jiān dū gōng chéng. bǎi xìng mén zhōng yú míng bái le, xiàn lìng suǒ shuō de xiū jiàn chéng qiáng, zhǐ shì yī zhǐ kōng wén, gēn běn bù huì duì xiàn. tā men dōu gǎn dào hěn shī wàng, yě duì xiàn lìng de qī piàn gǎn dào fèn nù. hòu lái, bǎi xìng mén jiù zài yě bù xiāo xìn xiàn lìng de huà le, tā men rèn wéi, xiàn lìng jiù shì gè zhǐ huì shuō kōng huà de rén.

Once upon a time, there was a county magistrate who, for the sake of his political achievements, decided to build a new city wall. He summoned the people to a meeting, promising to allocate funds for the construction of the city wall and signed a document confirming the construction of the city wall. The people were all very happy because the new city wall they had long been looking forward to was finally going to be built. They all actively participated in the construction of the city wall, working hard to transport bricks and tiles every day, working day and night without stopping. However, after a long time, the county magistrate still did not allocate funds, and he did not send anyone to supervise the project. The people finally realized that the county magistrate's promise to build the city wall was just a piece of paper, that he would never fulfill it. They were all very disappointed and also angry at the county magistrate's deceit. Later, the people no longer believed the county magistrate's words, they thought that he was just a person who only talked about empty things.

Usage

「一纸空文」通常用来形容那些没有实际意义的文书、承诺或计划，比如：

yī zhǐ kōng wén tóng cháng yòng lái xíng róng nà xiē méi yǒu shí jì yì yì de wén shū, chéng nuò huò jì huà, bǐ rú:

“A piece of paper” is often used to describe documents, promises, or plans that have no practical significance, such as:

Examples

• 这只是一个一纸空文，根本没有实际的意义。

  zhè zhǐ shì yī zhǐ kōng wén, gēn běn méi yǒu shí jì de yì yì.

  This is just a piece of paper, it has no practical significance.

• 这只是一个空头支票，不能当真。

  zhè zhǐ shì yī kōng tóu zhī piào, bù néng dàng zhēn.

  This is just an empty check, don't take it seriously.

Related Idioms

• 空头支票

• 纸上谈兵

Opposite Idioms

• 有凭有据

• 有案可稽