The literal meaning of "wang mei zhi ke" is "watching plums to quench thirst." It is a metaphor for comforting oneself with empty fantasies or fabricated wishes that cannot actually solve real problems. This idiom originates from A New Account of Tales of the World: False Deceit by Liu Yiqing of the Liu Song dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. It tells how, during a march, Cao Cao's soldiers were unbearably thirsty, so Cao Cao falsely claimed that there was a plum grove ahead. Thinking of the sour taste of plums, the soldiers' mouths watered, temporarily relieving their thirst. The deeper meaning of the idiom lies in revealing a psychological comfort mechanism: when people face needs that cannot be immediately satisfied, they often obtain temporary psychological satisfaction through imagination or false promises, but such satisfaction cannot truly solve the problem. It is mostly used to criticize unrealistic, self-comforting behavior, or to describe boosting morale with illusory hope. In emotional coloring, it carries a certain derogatory sense, suggesting self-deception or a stopgap measure. In cultural background, it reflects the psychological tactics in ancient military wisdom and also embodies the characteristic of Chinese idioms in conveying abstract philosophy through concrete stories.
📝 Example
1. The company's capital chain had broken down, yet the boss kept making empty promises to console himself and his employees, like drawing a cake to satisfy hunger or gazing at plums to quench thirst. Gradually, the employees lost faith. (A metaphor for comforting oneself with empty fantasies without solving real problems.)
2. He knew he hadn't reviewed well for the exam, yet he relied on wishful thinking to ease his anxiety, and as a result, his grades were a complete mess. (Refers to comforting oneself with unrealistic fantasies.)