📖 Meaning
To treat something that does not exist as if it were real; to fabricate a falsehood or make up a story out of thin air. It describes the act of deliberately inventing facts or events where none exist, often with deceptive intent.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Yuan dynasty zaju play 'Li Kui Bears the Thorn' (李逵负荆) by the playwright Kang Jinzhi. In Act One, a character warns another not to fabricate falsehoods, saying: 'Do not take what is nothing and make it something; just follow what came before and after.' The line cautions against inventing nonexistent offenses. Over time, the phrase was condensed into the four-character idiom '将无作有,' used to describe the act of conjuring false claims where no truth exists.
💡 Example Usage
他总爱将无作有，编些没影的事来挑拨离间。
He always likes to fabricate things out of thin air, making up baseless stories to sow discord among people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 将无作有
- Pinyin: jiāng wú zuò yǒu
- Literal Translation: take, nothing, as, having
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4