In ancient times, during the Spring and Autumn period, there lived a man in the state of Qi (in present-day Qi County, Henan) who was exceptionally timid and suspicious. His greatest fear was that one day the sky might suddenly collapse and the earth might sink, leaving him with no place to hide. Tormented by this dread, he spent his days with a furrowed brow, unable to eat or sleep, and grew thinner and weaker by the day. A concerned friend came to visit and asked, "Why do you look so troubled?" The man replied, "I worry constantly that the sky will fall and crush us all." The friend laughed and said, "The sky is just a vast expanse of air; how could it fall?" The man pressed, "But what about the sun, moon, and stars—won't they come crashing down?" The friend explained, "They are merely luminous bodies floating in that air, so they cannot fall." Still uneasy, the man asked, "And if the earth sinks?" The friend reassured him, "The earth is a solid mass of soil and rock, filling every space—how could it sink?" Hearing this, the man's worries lifted, and he smiled again. This story gave rise to the idiom "Groundless Fears," reminding us that many anxieties are born from imagination rather than reality.
Someone saw the man from Qi in such a state and advised him not to worry so much, lest he ruin his health. They reasoned, "The sky you speak of is actually nothing but accumulated gas, present everywhere. You breathe and move your limbs within this sky every day—why fear it might collapse and fall?"
The man from Qi, still half-doubting, asked, "Even if the sky won't fall and the earth won't sink, won't the sun, moon, and stars come crashing down?" His guide replied, "Those are just glowing gases—even if they fell, they wouldn't hurt you." The man pressed further, "But what if the earth itself collapses?"
The person trying to enlighten him replied, "The earth you speak of is nothing but piled-up clods of soil. It fills the empty spaces in all directions, and there is no place without these clods. You stand and walk on this earth every day—why fear it might collapse?"
The man from Qi, upon hearing this, felt both relieved and delighted, and so did the person who had enlightened him.
This is a fable told by Liezi during the Warring States period. Later generations summarized it as "The Man of Qi Fears the Sky," using it to refer to things that cannot happen or are beyond doubt.
Source: *Liezi*, Chapter "Tian Rui"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "杞人忧天" came to describe how many anxieties are born from imagination rather than reality.