刻舟求劍 Fossilised

刻舟求劍 /kè zhōu qiú jiàn/ is literally translated as “carve the sailing boat to seek the fallen sword”.

First, let your child read the comic story below and ask them, “can they find the sword?”

Their answer reflects the maturity of their brain development. Children under 4 years old might think “they can find it for sure”.

Of course, the position of a moving boat or any other vehicle changes every second. The marking cannot reflect the actual position of the lost sword.

This idiom means that in the ever-changing environment, if we stick to the same method or mentality and refuse to adapt, it would be problematic.

This idiom can be applied to the following examples:

• If you keep a contact list but never update it, then you might not be able to keep in touch with some of your friends.
• If you refuse to try new food or dishes because of some prejudice, then you’ll miss out new culinary and cultural experiences.
• If you disregard the change of weather and insist on the original travel plan, your trip might be ruined.
• If a company does not adapt and use new technology, it will lose its competitiveness and even business.

Here are some further examples that are relatable to children:

• If a child is obsessed with a toy and refuses to move on to other toys, it would eventually become obsolete and no longer be age appropriate to them.
• If a child, once won a competition, delves in the past success and refuses to take up new challenges, they would lose opportunity to learn new things.