Definition
This chengyu (set phrase) comes from a story: a man drops his sword from a boat and carves a notch on the boat's side to mark where it fell, then searches for the sword after the boat has moved. It criticizes rigid, outdated thinking that ignores changed circumstances.
phrase
to be rigidly inflexible in the face of changing circumstancesto cling to outdated methods
Examples
- ，刻舟求剑，。Zài xiàndài shèhuì, wǒmen zuò juécè shí bù néng kè zhōu qiú jiàn, yào dǒngde suíjī yìngbiàn.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？Shìchǎng huánjìng yǐjīng biàn le, nǐ hái yòng sān nián qián de cèlüè, 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，。Zhège gōngsī zhī suǒyǐ shībài, jiùshì yīnwèi guǎnlǐzhě kè zhōu qiú jiàn, bú yuàn gǎibiàn.The reason this company failed is that its managers were too rigid, unwilling to change.
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