Chinese idiom · 成语
空谷足音
Meaning
A rare and welcome person, opinion, or thing; like footsteps heard in a deserted valley.
Character by character
Origin and story
philosophicalIn the Zhuangzi (庄子), Xu Wugui has pleased the ruler of Wei, and Nü Shang asks how he managed it when elaborate learned discourse had not. Xu answers through images of separation. A person long away from home grows increasingly glad to encounter anyone familiar; someone isolated in a deserted place rejoices even at the sound of approaching footsteps, and still more at the voices of relatives.
He applies this to a ruler who has long lacked the words of a genuine person. The familiar image of footsteps in an empty valley developed from that discussion, rather than appearing there in exactly those four characters. It came to describe something unusually welcome and rare: a person, an opinion, or another valuable arrival.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
满屏都是广告时，这篇认真比较产品优缺点的文章，真是空谷足音。
Amid a screen full of advertisements, this article carefully comparing a product's strengths and weaknesses is a rare, welcome voice.
Literary praise for something both scarce and welcome; not restricted to visitors.