刻舟求剑

刻舟求剑 Marking the Boat to Find the Sword

从前有个人坐船过河，腰上挂着一把宝剑。 Long ago, a man crossed a river by boat, with a precious sword hanging at his waist.

船到河中间的时候，剑掉进了水里。 When the boat reached the middle of the river, his sword fell into the water.

他一点也不着急，在船边刻了一个记号。 He was not worried at all and carved a mark on the side of the boat.

他说：我的剑就是从这里掉下去的。 He said, “My sword fell from right here.”

船靠岸以后，他就从记号这里跳下水去找。 After the boat reached the shore, he jumped into the water beside the mark to look for it.

可是船已经走了很远，剑还留在河中间。 But the boat had already travelled far away, while the sword remained in the middle of the river.

他找了半天，什么也没有找到。 He searched for a long time and found nothing at all.

情况变了，办法也要变。 When circumstances change, the way we act must change too.

大家都换了新办法，你还用老办法，这就是刻舟求剑。 Everyone has changed to a new way, but you still use the old one — that is 刻舟求剑.