望风捕影 to chase shadows
Explanation
比喻说话做事根据不可靠的传闻或表面现象，没有真凭实据。
It means speaking or acting based on unreliable hearsay or superficial phenomena, without real evidence.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，京城里流传着一个关于妖怪的故事。据说在一个月黑风高的夜晚，城郊出现了一个巨大的身影，它身形庞大，遮天蔽日，人们都说它能兴风作浪，呼风唤雨。一时间，人心惶惶，许多人谈妖色变。 官府也对此事非常重视，派出了大批士兵四处搜捕妖怪。可是，他们找遍了城郊的每一个角落，却始终没有发现妖怪的踪影。 原来，这所谓的妖怪，不过是一个江湖骗子利用特殊的道具制造出来的幻象。他故意制造一些奇异的现象，以此来吓唬百姓，达到敛财的目的。 后来，这个骗子终于被官府捉拿归案。这件事告诉人们，有些事情看似真切，但实际上却可能是虚幻的，我们不能盲目相信那些望风捕影的传闻，而应该多方求证，才能得出正确的结论。
In the Tang Dynasty, a story about a monster spread in the capital. It was said that on a dark and windy night, a huge figure appeared in the suburbs. Its huge figure blocked out the sun and moon. People said that it could stir up wind and rain. For a time, people were in fear, and many people were afraid of the monster. The government also attached great importance to this matter and sent a large number of soldiers to search for the monster. However, they searched every corner of the suburbs, but they never found any trace of the monster. It turned out that the so-called monster was nothing more than an illusion created by a swindler using special props. He deliberately created some strange phenomena to scare the people and achieve his purpose of making money. Later, this swindler was finally arrested by the government. This incident tells people that some things may seem real, but in fact they may be illusions. We should not blindly believe those rumors and speculations, but should verify them in many ways in order to reach the correct conclusions.
Usage
用于形容凭空猜测，没有事实根据。
Used to describe groundless guesses without factual basis.
Examples
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他的说法完全是望风捕影，没有任何证据。
tā de shuōfǎ wánquán shì wàngfēng bǔyǐng, méiyǒu rènhé zhèngjù
His statement is pure speculation, without any evidence.
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不要轻信那些望风捕影的小道消息。
bùyào qīngxìn nàxiē wàngfēng bǔyǐng de xiǎodào xiāoxī
Don't easily believe those rumors and speculations.