无中生有 wú zhōng shēng yǒu create something out of nothing

Explanation

无中生有，这个成语出自《老子》的“天下万物生于有，有生于无”。道家认为，天下万物生于有，有生于无。但这个成语用来比喻毫无事实，凭空捏造。

The idiom "create something out of nothing" comes from the Tao Te Ching by Laozi: "All things under heaven arise from being, being arises from non-being." Taoism teaches that all things under heaven arise from being, being arises from non-being. However, the idiom is used to describe something that is fabricated without any basis.

Origin Story

话说唐朝开元盛世，有个叫李白的大诗人，他喜欢喝酒，也喜欢写诗。一天，他在酒馆里喝得醉醺醺的，突然想写诗，可是口袋里一分钱都没有。于是他灵机一动，对酒馆老板说：“老板，我今天没带钱，可否赊账？我写一首诗给你，价值千金！”老板见他醉得厉害，也没多想，就答应了。李白在纸上写了四句诗：“无中生有，妙不可言。天花乱坠，酒过三巡。”老板一看，这诗写的真是好，就让李白走了。李白出门之后，心里暗自得意：“我真是无中生有，赚了一顿酒钱！”可是，第二天，酒馆老板却找到李白，说：“你这诗写的太好，可是这酒钱要怎么算呢？我的酒馆虽然小，但也要讲诚信。”李白这才想起自己前一天的胡言乱语，顿时羞愧难当，便乖乖地付了酒钱。

huà shuō táng cháo kāi yuán shèng shì, yǒu ge jiào lǐ bái de dà shī rén, tā xǐ huan hē jiǔ, yě xǐ huan xiě shī. yī tiān, tā zài jiǔ guǎn lǐ hē de zuì xūn xūn de, tū rán xiǎng xiě shī, kě shì kǒu dài lǐ yī fēn qián dōu méi yǒu. yú shì tā líng jī yī dòng, duì jiǔ guǎn lǎo bǎn shuō: “lǎo bǎn, wǒ jīn tiān méi dài qián, kě fǒu shē zhàng? wǒ xiě yī shǒu shī gěi nǐ, jià zhí qiān jīn!” lǎo bǎn jiàn tā zuì de lì hài, yě méi duō xiǎng, jiù dā yìng le. lǐ bái zài zhǐ shàng xiě le sì jù shī: “wú zhōng shēng yǒu, miào bù kě yán. tiān huā luàn zhuì, jiǔ guò sān xún.” lǎo bǎn yī kàn, zhè shī xiě de zhēn shì hǎo, jiù ràng lǐ bái zǒu le. lǐ bái chū mén zhī hòu, xīn lǐ àn zì dé yì: “wǒ zhēn shì wú zhōng shēng yǒu, zuàn le yī dùn jiǔ qián!” kě shì, dì èr tiān, jiǔ guǎn lǎo bǎn què zhǎo dào lǐ bái, shuō: “nǐ zhè shī xiě de tài hǎo, kě shì zhè jiǔ qián yào zěn me suàn ne? wǒ de jiǔ guǎn suī rán xiǎo, dàn yě yào jiǎng chéng xìn.” lǐ bái cái cái xiǎng qǐ zì jǐ qián yī tiān de hú yán yǔ, dùn shí xiū kuì nán dāng, biàn guāi guāi de fù le jiǔ qián.

During the prosperous Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, there was a great poet named Li Bai. He loved to drink and write poetry. One day, he was drunk in a tavern and suddenly wanted to write a poem, but he had no money in his pocket. So he had an idea. He said to the tavern owner: "Boss, I don't have any money with me today, can I open an account? I'll write you a poem worth a thousand gold pieces!" The owner saw that he was drunk and didn't think much of it, so he agreed. Li Bai wrote four lines on a piece of paper: "Creating something out of nothing, wonderfully indescribable. Heavenly flowers fall like rain, after three rounds of wine." The owner read the poem and found it excellent, so he let Li Bai go. Li Bai went out and felt proud to himself: "I really created something out of nothing, and earned a sip of wine!" However, the next day, the tavern owner came to Li Bai and said: "Your poem is so good, but how should I calculate the cost of the wine? My tavern is small, but we must be honest." Li Bai remembered his irresponsible words from the previous day and was embarrassed. He paid for the wine obediently.

Usage

无中生有主要用来讽刺那些捏造事实，胡说八道的人，也可以用来形容凭空想象，没有根据的事情。

wú zhōng shēng yǒu zhǔ yào yòng lái fěng cì nà xiē niē zào shì shí, hú shuō bā dào de rén, yě kě yǐ yòng lái xíng róng píng kōng xiǎng xiàng, méi yǒu gēn jù de shì qíng.

The idiom "create something out of nothing" is mainly used to satirize those who fabricate facts and talk nonsense, but it can also be used to describe something that is imaginary and has no basis.

Examples

• 他把这件事说得有鼻子有眼，却完全是无中生有。

  tā bǎ zhè jiàn shì qíng shuō de yǒu bí zi yǒu yǎn, què wán quán shì wú zhōng shēng yǒu.

  He made up a story about it, but it's all a fabrication.

• 这个计划完全是无中生有，根本无法实现。

  zhè ge jì huà wán quán shì wú zhōng shēng yǒu, gēn běn wú fǎ shí xiàn.

  This plan is completely out of thin air and can't be implemented.

Related Idioms

• 捕风捉影

• 信口雌黄

• 空口无凭

Opposite Idioms

• 有根有据

• 确凿无疑