五色令人目盲

wǔsèlìngrénmùmáng

phrase

Meanings

1 the five colors blind the eye
2 (fig.) sensory overload dulls the senses; excess stimulation is itself a form of blindness
3 (lit.) five-colors cause person eye-blind

Characters

color (五色 = five colors)

blind (目盲 = eye-blind)

Examples

五色令人目盲，五音令人耳聋，老子早就警示感官过度。

Wǔ sè lìng rén mù máng, wǔ yīn lìng rén ěr lóng, Lǎozǐ zǎo jiù jǐngshì gǎnguān guòdù.

'The five colors blind the eye, the five tones deafen the ear' — Laozi warned long ago of sensory excess.

短视频刷多了，真应了五色令人目盲。

Duǎnshìpín shuā duō le, zhēn yìng le wǔ sè lìng rén mù máng.

Scrolling too much short-form video really fulfills 'the five colors blind the eye.'

Tips

history

From 《道德经》第十二章 (Dao De Jing, ch. 12): 五色令人目盲，五音令人耳聋，五味令人口爽，驰骋田猎令人心发狂，难得之货令人行妨 (The five colors blind the eye, the five tones deafen the ear, the five flavors dull the palate, galloping hunts drive the heart mad, goods hard to come by make one's conduct err). Laozi's core argument against sensory and material excess; the phrase has been cited in modern Chinese against consumerism, advertising, and smartphone overuse.

usage

Often quoted as part of the triplet with 五音令人耳聋 and 五味令人口爽. 五色 originally = green/yellow/red/white/black (青黄赤白黑), the canonical Chinese color set. 令 = 'to cause / make' (classical causative).

Stroke Order

五 wǔ

色 sè

令 lìng

人 rén

目 mù

盲 máng