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纸上谈兵
zhǐ shàng tán bīng
Definitions
- •lit. military tactics on paper (idiom)
- •fig. theoretical discussion that is worse than useless in practice
- •armchair strategist
- •idle theorizing
- •cf Zhao Kuo 趙括|赵括[zhào kuò] leading an army of 400,000 to total annihilation at battle of Changping 長平之戰|长平之战[cháng píng zhī zhàn] in 260 BC