📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone who treats only their own mind as their guide and acts purely according to their own subjective judgment. Such a person is self-righteous and stubbornly refuses to accept correct opinions or advice from others. It carries a strongly critical tone toward intellectual arrogance and closed-mindedness.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Admonitions for the Yan Clan (《颜氏家训》), specifically the chapter 'Encouraging Study' (《勉学》), written by Yan Zhitui of the Northern Qi dynasty. In it, Yan Zhitui criticized scholars of his time who shut themselves away reading books and trusted only their own judgment. Because of this arrogant self-reliance, they frequently made embarrassing errors when speaking in large public gatherings. The original expression 师心自是 later came into common use as 师心自用, broadening from scholarly vanity to any refusal to heed others' correct advice.
💡 Example Usage
他管理团队时总是师心自用，听不进任何不同意见，最终导致项目彻底失败。
When managing the team he always trusted only his own judgment, refusing to listen to any differing opinions, which ultimately led the project to fail completely.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 师心自用
- Pinyin: shī xīn zì yòng
- Literal Translation: to take as a teacher, the mind/heart, oneself, to use/act
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4