郑人买履

zhèng rén mǎi lǚ

lit. the person from Zheng 鄭|郑[Zheng4] who wanted to buy shoes (an allusion to an ancient story about somebody who, when buying a pair of shoes, preferred to rely on their foot measurements rather than just trying them on) (idiom)

fig. disregarding the sensible approach in favor of adherence to a fixed idea

zhèng

abbr. for Zhengzhou 鄭州|郑州[Zheng4 zhou1], the capital of Henan

rén

person; people

mǎi

to buy

shoe