Chinese idiom · 成语
闭门造车
Meaning
To build a cart behind closed doors; to work without external input.
Character by character
Origin and story
Religious analogyAn early occurrence in the Buddhist Zutang Ji, volume 20, uses the fuller saying about building a cart indoors and finding that its wheels fit the road's tracks outside. In that passage, understanding the true principle and practicing accordingly makes present action correspond with established teachings. The cart works because its maker follows the right standard.
This is strikingly different from the common modern criticism. Today 闭门造车 usually describes designing or deciding in isolation, without checking real conditions or other people's needs. The early comparison is not a story about an incompetent carpenter whose cart definitely failed; its successful outcome explains why the historical and modern senses must be distinguished.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
设计新功能前要听用户意见，不能闭门造车。
Before designing a new feature, we need users' feedback instead of working in isolation.
The usual modern sense is critical of ignoring practical needs.