To think of plums to quench one's thirst
Refers to situations where one's hopes cannot be realized, so one must resort to using imagination to comfort oneself
Negative
他没钱买别墅，只好天天看着房屋广告望梅止渴了 | Tā měi qián mǎi biéshù, zhǐhǎo tiāntiān kànzhe fángwū guǎnggào wàngméizhǐkě le
He doesn't have the money to buy a villa, so he has to console himself by looking at house advertisements every day
[Source]
这种望梅止渴的办法，只不过是自欺欺人而已 | Zhè zhǒng wàngméizhǐkě de bànfǎ, zhǐ bùguò shì zìqīqīrén éryǐ
This kind of wishful thinking is nothing but lying to oneself and to others
[Source]
Wishful thinking
说梅止渴 (shuō méi zhǐ kě)
None
《世说新语》(Shì Shuō Xīn Yǔ) by southern Sòng Dynasy (南宋, 1127 - 1279) writer 刘义庆 (Liú Yì Qìng). Known in English as "A New Account of the Tales of the World,"《世说新语》is a collection of anecdotes, conversations, and remarks on historic personalities
One summer towards the end of the Eastern Hàn Dynasty (东汉, 25 - 220), the warlord 曹操 (Cáo Cāo) was leading his troops on an invasion. The day was unusually hot, and the sun beat down heavily on their backs as they traversed the mountainous path. It wasn't long before the soldiers grew unbearably thirsty, and the pace of the entire army slowed to a crawl. Some weaker soldiers even passed out on the side of the road, utterly unable to go on.
The situation made 曹操 very worried. He ordered scouts to find a water source and bring back some water, but every single one of them returned empty-handed. At this point, he knew that his troops wouldn't last much longer and that he had to do something. He spurred his horse to the very front of his troops, then turned to face them all.
"Soldiers," he cried, "there's a giant plum orchard ahead of us with sweet and sour plums. Let's hurry up and get around this mountain, and we'll be there in no time!"
Upon hearing this, the troops felt as though they'd already eaten the plums, and their mouths watered so much that they no longer felt thirsty. On top of that, their morale grew and their pace increased.