熟視無睹

From a letter by Han Yu to Wei, about whom little is known, in the hope of obtaining his recommendation before attending the imperial examination:

然是物也，負其異於眾也，且曰：爛死於沙泥，吾寧樂之；若俛首帖耳，搖尾而乞憐者，非我之志也。是以有力者遇之，熟視之若無睹也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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然是物也，负其异于众也，且曰：烂死于沙泥，吾宁乐之；若俯首帖耳，摇尾而乞怜者，非我之志也。是以有力者遇之，熟视之若无睹也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: 793, 韓愈,《應科目時與人書》

Rán shì wù yě, fù qí yìyú zhòng yě, qiě yuē: làn sǐ yú shā ní, wú nìng lè zhī; ruò fǔshǒutiē'ěr, yáo wěi ér qǐ lián zhě, fēi wǒ zhī zhì yě. Shìyǐ yǒulì zhě yù zhī, shúshì zhī ruò wú dǔ yě. [Pinyin]

But the creature, proud of being different from other creatures, says, "I prefer to die and decay in the sand and mud, which to me is a pleasure, rather than bow my head, droop my ears, wag my tail, and beg for pity, which goes against my aspiration." Consequently, later, when men of importance passes by it, though familiar, they pay no attention to it.

Here, the author compared himself to a strange creature which is powerful in water but incapable of moving itself into water when stranded on land. Therefore, it may be necessary for a passerby to help it out.

Alternatively, from Liu Ling's The Genius of Wine:

靜聽不聞雷霆之聲，熟視不睹泰山之形，不覺寒暑之切肌，利欲之感情。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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静听不闻雷霆之声，熟视不睹泰山之形，不觉寒暑之切肌，利欲之感情。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: c. late 3^rd century, 劉伶 (Liu Ling),《酒德頌》, translated by H. A. Giles, 1922.

Jìngtīng bù wén léitíng zhī shēng, shúshì bù dǔ Tàishān zhī xíng, bùjiào hánshǔ zhī qiè jī, lìyù zhī gǎn qíng. [Pinyin]

His ears were beyond the reach of thunder; he could not have seen a mountain. Heat and cold existed for him no more. He knew not even the workings of his own mind.

熟視無睹

1. to turn a blind eye to; to pay no attention to a familiar sight