"Kongxue laifeng" (literally "wind comes from empty caves") originally meant that wind only enters where there is a cave, serving as a metaphor that news or rumors are not entirely groundless. It comes from Song Yu's "Rhapsody on the Wind" from the State of Chu during the Warring States period: "I heard from my teacher: the trifoliate orange attracts nests, and empty caves draw wind." Literally, hollow caves easily attract wind, and by extension, rumors often have underlying causes. Through long-term use, this idiom has developed two seemingly opposite interpretations: one emphasizes that rumors have a basis and should not be taken lightly; the other means that rumors are completely groundless and fabricated out of thin air. In modern Chinese, the latter usage is more common but prone to ambiguity. Therefore, when used on formal occasions, its meaning must be judged according to context. This idiom is mostly used in discussions of hearsay, gossip, or sources of information, carrying a neutral to mildly cautionary emotional tone, reminding people that rumors should be neither fully believed nor completely ignored, and that their underlying causes should be analyzed rationally.
📝 Example
1. The rumors about the company's upcoming layoffs are not entirely groundless—the HR department has indeed been holding frequent meetings recently.
2. Those so-called insider revelations online are completely unfounded. Don't believe them easily.