子虚乌有 Baseless
Explanation
子虚乌有指的是虚构的、不存在的、不真实的事情。
Zǐ xū wū yǒu refers to something fabricated, nonexistent, or untrue. It describes something unreal and without basis in reality. It's used to label something as false, fictitious, or imaginary.
Origin Story
西汉时期，司马相如创作了一篇著名的赋《子虚赋》，讲述了一个关于楚使子虚出使齐国的故事。子虚在齐国游猎归来后，向一位名叫乌有先生的人夸耀楚王的富强和盛大，故意贬低齐王。乌有先生则据理力争，反驳子虚的夸大之词。这个故事本是虚构的，但它生动地展现了当时社会的一些现象，也成为了后世人们用来比喻虚假不实之事的典故。“子虚乌有”由此而来，形容事情完全是虚构的，不存在的。
During the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Xiangru created a famous fu, "Zi Xu Fu," which tells a story about Zi Xu, an envoy from Chu, who visited the kingdom of Qi. After returning from a hunting trip in Qi, Zi Xu boasted to a man named Wu You about the power and grandeur of Chu's king, deliberately belittling Qi's king. Wu You, however, reasoned with him and refuted Zi Xu’s exaggerated claims. This story, though fictional, vividly portrays aspects of that era's society and became an allusion used to describe something false and untrue. The idiom "Zi Xu Wu You" thus describes something entirely fictional and nonexistent.
Usage
常用来形容事情完全是虚构的，不存在的。
It's often used to describe something entirely fictional and nonexistent.
Examples
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他的说法完全是子虚乌有，没有任何事实依据。
tade shuofawánquán shì zǐxūwūyǒu, méiyǒu rènhé shìshí yījī.
His statement is completely unfounded and without any factual basis.
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这种说法子虚乌有，根本站不住脚。
zhè zhǒng shuōfǎ zǐxūwūyǒu, gēnběn zhànbuzhù jiǎo。
Such a statement is utterly baseless and untenable.