Chinese idiom · 成语
好高骛远
Meaning
To aim high and far; to be overly ambitious without practicality.
Character by character
Origin and story
literaryThe biography of Cheng Hao in the History of the Song (宋史) describes his concern about students who despised what was elementary and close at hand while pursuing what was lofty and remote. In its account of his teaching, learning proceeds in an ordered way: ordinary conduct and the demanding work of understanding principles belong to the same process. Students who tried to leap over the nearer tasks, the biography says, ultimately accomplished nothing.
The familiar four-character expression condenses that criticism; it need not describe a particular failed project or a single conversation. Its target is not ambition itself, but ambition detached from the practical steps needed to achieve it. Later writers also used the exact wording 好高骛远.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
创业要先解决眼前的问题，不能好高骛远。
When starting a business, address the immediate problems first instead of chasing unrealistic ambitions.
Critical: it faults unrealistic aims or neglect of basic work, not worthwhile ambition.