📖 Meaning
Refers to a young scholar who lacks practical experience and real-world knowledge. Literally means a 'white-faced scholar,' describing someone whose face is pale from spending all their time indoors studying. It often carries a mildly dismissive tone, implying book learning without hands-on ability.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Book of Song' (宋书), in the Biography of Shen Qingzhi, during the Southern Dynasties period. When Emperor Wen of Liu Song planned a military campaign, he consulted young, inexperienced court scholars rather than seasoned generals. The veteran general Shen Qingzhi objected, warning the emperor: 'Your Majesty wishes to attack a state, yet plans the matter with white-faced scholars—how can it possibly succeed?' The phrase thus became a caution against entrusting important practical matters to those with only theoretical knowledge.
💡 Example Usage
这些白面书生只会纸上谈兵，哪里懂得带兵打仗的道理？
These pale-faced scholars only know how to talk strategy on paper—what do they understand about leading troops in battle?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 白面书生
- Pinyin: bái miàn shū shēng
- Literal Translation: white, face, book, scholar
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4