Chinese Idiom: 想当然耳 (Xiang Dang Ran Er)
English Translation: It Goes Without Saying
pīn yīn: xiǎng dāng rán ěr
Idiom Meaning: This idiom refers to making judgments based solely on personal imagination or assumptions, without any objective facts.
Historical Source: From The Book of the Later Han (《后汉书 · 孔融传》).
Idiom Story:
During the reign of Emperor Xian of Han, Cao Cao used the authority of the emperor to wage war against Yuan Shao. After several battles, Cao Cao, despite having fewer troops, managed to defeat Yuan Shao and capture Ye City, which had been built over generations of hard work by Yuan’s family. As the Wei army stormed into the city, they pursued Yuan’s forces, resulting in the plundering of women and children in Yuan’s household. Yuan Shao’s son, Yuan Xi, had a beautiful wife named Zhen Shi, and Cao Cao’s son, Cao Pi, was smitten with her at first sight. Seizing the chaos, he secretly took her as a concubine.
Upon hearing this, Kong Rong disapproved of Cao Pi’s actions, considering it a breach of propriety to take another man’s wife. He wrote a letter to Cao Cao, telling a story about how King Wu of Zhou, during his campaign against the tyrant King Zhou of Shang, had given Zhou’s favorite concubine, Daji, to his brother, Duke of Zhou Ji Dan, as a concubine. Kong Rong intended this story as a satire directed at Cao Cao.
Cao Cao, confused by Kong Rong’s reference, asked him, “Which historical text does your story come from?” The truth was that Kong Rong had fabricated this example to criticize Cao Cao for allowing his son to take Zhen Shi as a concubine, and there was no historical record of King Wu gifting Daji to the Duke of Zhou. Thus, Kong Rong could only respond ambiguously, stating, “I inferred this based on current events; it seems reasonable to assume that something similar happened in the past.”
From this story, the idiom “想当然耳” (or simply “想当然”) emerged, signifying assumptions made without substantial evidence.
