Rootless wood, water without source
Rootless wood, water without source is a Chinese idiom, pronounced w ú g ē nzh ī m ù, w ú Yu á nzh ī Shu ǐ. It's a metaphor for something that has no basis.
Source: in the ninth year of Zhaogong in Zuozhuan: "I was in my uncle, but the clothes had a crown, and the wood and water had the origin."
Rootless wood, water without source