Idiom Explanation:
There is a fear of the sky falling in the country of Qi. Metaphorically, unnecessary or unfounded worries and concerns.
Pronunciation:
杞人忧天
qǐ rén yōu tiān
Origin:
《列子·天瑞》：杞国有人忧天地崩坠，身亡所寄，废寝食者。
Story:
Once upon a time there was a small country called the State of Qi. The country of Qi had a very timid, and a little nervous person, he often thought of some strange problems, and people find it inexplicable. This man was worried that the sky would collapse and smash his head; he was worried that the ground would fall and bury his body. The more he thought about it, the more scared, since then, all day worry, can not eat during the day, afraid to sleep at night. The story slowly spread.
A warm-hearted person saw his look of sadness and boredom, worried that he had broken his body, so he went to enlighten him: “The sky is just a mass of accumulated gas, up and down everywhere in all directions. Every movement of a person, every breath has to be in contact with it. You move around in the gas all day long, so why do you have to worry about it falling down?”
The man asked, “If the sky is really an accumulation of gas, then aren’t the sun, moon and stars in danger of falling?”
“No, no!” The enthusiast replied, “The sun, the moon and the stars are just substances that shine in the gas. Even if they fall down, they will not hurt anyone. You can rest assured.”
The man continued, “What if the earth collapses?” The enthusiast said, “The ground is just a pile of earth. There are such clods everywhere in the southeast and northwest. If you walk around, jump around, and move around on the ground all day long, you don’t have to worry about it collapsing.”
The people of Qi listened to this, as if their hearts had dropped a thousand pounds of weight, and their faces showed a smile. The enthusiastic man, for relieving the worries of the QI people, was also very happy. Later, according to this story, people derived the idiom of “A man in QI afraid the sky will fall”.
Similar Idioms:
- 庸人自扰
