The idiom **刮目相看 (guā mù xiāng kàn)** is formed through a historical allusion and vivid imagery. Literally meaning "to scrape one's eyes and look at (someone)," it originates from a story about the Three Kingdoms general Lü Meng, who, after diligently studying, so profoundly improved that an old acquaintance declared one must "scrape the old film from one's eyes" to see him anew. Thus, the word combines the action of clearing vision (**刮目**) with the act of looking (**相看**) to metaphorically express the necessity of completely reassessing and regarding someone with newfound respect after they have made remarkable progress or transformation.