郑人买履 (zhèng rén mǎi lǚ)

郑人买履 (zhèng rén mǎi lǚ；Zheng man bought shoes)

This is a story about an ancient Chinese man in Zheng State. The Zheng man wanted to buy a pair of shoes. He went to a shop and found a pair. He liked the color and style. But just as he was about to purchase the Shoes, it realized that he had forgotten to bring the measurement he had taken of his feet. So he hurried to home and got the measurement. Unfortunately, when he came back to the shop, it had already been closed. His friend asked, ‘‘Why did you need to go home to get the measurement? Why didn’t you just try the shoes on with your own feet instead of going home?” The Zheng man answered, "I trust my measurement more than my feet". The idiom 郑人买履 ridicules those like the Zeng Man who trust doctrine over reality.