📖 Meaning
This idiom literally means fabricating something while facing a wall, with no basis in fact or reality. It is a metaphor for inventing stories or claims out of thin air rather than reporting what actually happened. It describes someone who makes things up without any factual foundation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the preface of 'Shuowen Jiezi' (说文解字), written by the Han dynasty scholar Xu Shen. In the preface, Xu Shen criticized scholars of his time who arbitrarily altered classical texts and fabricated incomprehensible writings to show off their erudition. He described them as 'fabricating books while facing the wall' (乡壁虚造), meaning they invented things with no textual basis. Over time, the expression evolved into the modern form '向壁虚构'.
💡 Example Usage
这篇报道完全是向壁虚构，没有任何事实依据。
This report is entirely fabricated out of thin air, with no factual basis whatsoever.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 向壁虚构
- Pinyin: xiàng bì xū gòu
- Literal Translation: facing, wall, falsely, constructing
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4