刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) — to be rigidly inflexible in the face of changing circumstances; to cling to outdated methods
Definition
A chengyu from an ancient story: a man notched his boat to mark where his sword fell overboard, not realizing the boat had moved. Used to mock someone who stubbornly sticks to an old method while conditions have changed.
phrase
to be rigidly inflexible in the face of changing circumstancesto cling to outdated methods
Examples
- ，刻舟求剑，。Zài xiàn dài shè huì, wǒ men zuò jué cè shí bù néng kè zhōu qiú jiàn, yào dǒng de suí jī yìng biàn.In modern society, when making decisions we cannot act like the man who carved his boat; we must know how to adapt.
- ，，刻舟求剑？Shì chǎng huán jìng yǐ jīng biàn le, nǐ hái yòng sān nián qián de cè lüè, zhè bú shì kè zhōu qiú jiàn ma?The market environment has changed; if you're still using a three-year-old strategy, isn't that like carving a notch on the boat?
- ，刻舟求剑，。Zhè ge gōng sī zhī suǒ yǐ shī bài, jiù shì yīn wèi guǎn lǐ zhě kè zhōu qiú jiàn, bú yuàn gǎi biàn.The reason this company failed is that its managers were too rigid, unwilling to change.
Appears in
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