食古不化 (shí gǔ bú huà) — to blindly follow ancient teachings without understanding or adapting them; pedantic and impractical
Definition
Idiom: someone has read the classics but can't apply them to real life. Critical of rigid, bookish thinking — the person knows old texts but cannot adapt or solve practical problems.
idiom
to blindly follow ancient teachings without understanding or adapting thempedantic and impractical
Examples
- ，食古不化，。Tā dú shū hěn duō, dàn shí gǔ bú huà, méi fǎ jiě jué shí jì wèn tí.He reads a lot, but he's a half-baked pedant and can't solve real problems.
- 食古不化，。Xué xí chuán tǒng bù néng shí gǔ bú huà, yào jié hé shí dài chuàng xīn.When studying tradition, you can't blindly copy the ancients — you must innovate with the times.
- 食古不化，。Zhè zhǒng shí gǔ bú huà de zuò fǎ, zhī huì ràng nián qīng rén fǎn gǎn.This kind of pedantic approach will only turn young people off.
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