Chinese idiom: 守株待兔

"Chengyus" are a type of traditional Chinese idioms which consists of four characters. They were commonly used in ancient Chinese literature and are still widely used in spoken Chinese. Though only four characters, Chengyus often have a deep meaning behind them and is interwoven with the moral concepts from classical Chinese mythology. If you’re ever looking to get a complex point across quickly, then there’s no better way than four characters Chengyu in Chinese!

守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù)

Meaning of Individual Characters in "守株待兔"

守 – to guard, to keep watch
株 – the tree trunk, the stump of the tree
待 – to wait
兔 – rabbit

The Myth Behind "守株待兔"

This chengyu is also from a fable (寓言故事, yù yán gù shì) from Warring States Period by Han Fei. Once there was a peasant in the Song state. There was a tree stump in his field. One day a rabbit dashed itself against the tree stump and broke its neck while he was tilling the field. He was very happy to get the dead rabbit without any effort.

Since then, he stopped ploughing the fields. He just stood by the stump waiting for another rabbit to hit into the tree itself again. After a few days without any gains, he realized that he won't get another rabbit by luck. By then, however, his field withered due to the lack of care.

The moral of this story is that you might get lucky sometimes but it is not reliable. You shouldn't fully depend on it. Initiatives and hard work by yourself are more practical and necessary to be successful.

The Meaning of "守株待兔"

– To guard the tree stump to wait for the rabbit
– To wait idly for the opportunity without paying effort
– To trust blindly in luck rather than working harder
– Sit there and wait for gains

How to use "守株待兔" in a sentence?

我们尊重经验， 但又不能守株待兔。
We value experiences, but we can't just sit there and wait for the opportunities to come to us.
Wǒ men zūn zhòng jīng yàn, dàn yòu bù néng shǒu zhū dài tù

来源：ChinaWhisper
编辑：万月英