📖 Meaning
To value what one hears while despising what one sees. It describes a mindset of trusting hearsay and rumor over direct observation and concrete facts. The idiom criticizes those who blindly accept secondhand accounts rather than verifying reality with their own eyes.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Eastern Han dynasty scholar Zhang Heng's work 'Rhapsody on the Eastern Capital' (东京赋). In the text, Zhang Heng uses it to mock superficial scholars who rely on hearsay and shallow learning rather than firsthand knowledge. He calls such people '末学肤受，贵耳而贱目者也' — students of shallow learning who esteem the ear and deprecate the eye. The idiom has since been widely cited in classical literature, including the Song dynasty Buddhist text 'Wudeng Huiyuan' (五灯会元).
💡 Example Usage
做学问切忌贵耳贱目，应以事实为依据。
In scholarship, one must avoid trusting hearsay over firsthand observation; conclusions should be based on facts.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 贵耳贱目
- Pinyin: guì ěr jiàn mù
- Literal Translation: value, ear, despise, eye
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4