大而无当 Dà ér wú dàng grandiose but impractical

Explanation

指规模很大，但缺乏实际价值或可行性。

Refers to something that is very large but lacks practical value or feasibility.

Origin Story

春秋时期，楚国有一个名叫接舆的隐士，他曾告诉肩吾说，在遥远的北海，有一座名为姑射山的仙山，山上的神仙拥有不可思议的能力，可以使天下五谷丰登，国泰民安。然而，肩吾却认为接舆的话过于夸大，不切实际，认为接舆是在信口开河，甚至觉得接舆的话简直是无稽之谈。他觉得接舆所描述的景象太过宏大，而缺乏具体的细节和可信的依据，简直就是‘大而无当’。肩吾将此事告诉了连叔，连叔听后陷入了沉思，他认为接舆的话虽然听起来很夸张，但也不一定完全没有道理。或许，接舆想要表达的是一种对美好理想的追求，一种对未来无限可能的向往。或许，这正是‘大而无当’背后的深层含义。

chūn qiū shí qī, chǔ guó yǒu yīgè míng jiào jiē yú de yǐn shì, tā céng gào sù jiān wú shuō, zài yáo yuǎn de běi hǎi, yǒu yī zuò míng wéi gū shè shān de xiān shān, shān shang de shén cóng yǒng yǒu bù kě sī yì de néng lì, kě yǐ shǐ tiān xià wǔ gǔ fēng dēng, guó tài mín ān. rán ér, jiān wú què rèn wéi jiē yú de huà guò yú kuā dà, bù qiē shí jì, rèn wéi jiē yú shì zài xìn kǒu kāi hé, shèn zhì jué de jiē yú de huà jiǎn zhí shì wú jī zhī tán. tā jué de jiē yú suǒ miáo shù de jǐng xiàng tài guò hóng dà, ér quē fá gù tǐ de xì jié hé kě xìn de yī jù, jiǎn zhí jiù shì ‘dà ér wú dàng’ jiān wú jiāng cǐ shì gào sù le lián shū, lián shū tīng hòu xiàn rù le chén sī, tā rèn wéi jiē yú de huà suī rán tīng qǐ lái hěn kuā zhāng, dàn yě bù yī dìng wán quán méi yǒu dào lǐ. huò xǔ, jiē yú xiǎng yào biǎo dá de shì yī zhǒng duì měi hǎo lǐ xiǎng de zhuī qiú, yī zhǒng duì wèi lái wú xiàn kě néng de xiàng wǎng. huò xǔ, zhè zhèng shì ‘dà ér wú dàng’ bèi hòu de shēn céng hái yì

During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a recluse named Jieyu in the state of Chu. He once told Jianwu that in the distant North Sea, there was a mythical mountain called Gushashan, where gods lived who possessed incredible power, able to ensure abundant harvests and peace in the land. However, Jianwu considered Jieyu's words to be exaggerated and unrealistic, believing Jieyu was speaking nonsense, and even finding his descriptions completely incredible. He felt the scene described by Jieyu was too grand, lacking concrete details and credible evidence – precisely ‘da er wu dang’. Jianwu told Lian Shu about this encounter. Lian Shu pondered and felt that while Jieyu's words sounded exaggerated, they weren't necessarily entirely without reason. Perhaps Jieyu wanted to express a yearning for a beautiful ideal and a longing for endless possibilities in the future. Perhaps that is the deeper meaning behind ‘da er wu dang’.

Usage

形容事情规模很大，但并不切实际，缺乏可行性。

xióng róng shì qíng guī mó hěn dà, dàn bìng bù qiē shí jì, quē fá kě xíng xìng

Describes something that is large in scale but impractical and lacks feasibility.

Examples

• 他的计划太大了，根本不切实际，简直就是大而无当。

  tā de jì huà tài dà le, gēn běn bù qiē shí jì, jiǎn zhí jiù shì dà ér wú dàng zhège fāng'àn dà ér wú dàng, quē fá kě cāo zuò xìng

  His plan is too big and unrealistic, simply big and impractical.

• 这个方案大而无当，缺乏可操作性。

  This approach is too large and unworkable.

Related Idioms

• 硕大无朋

• 庞然大物

• 华而不实

Opposite Idioms

• 小巧玲珑

• 短小精悍

• 具体而微