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守株待兔 — clinging to a fluke: chengyu story and meaning

守株待兔 — To hope lightning strikes twice instead of working for what you want. Used for people who copy a one-off lucky break instead of adapting.

Literal meaning

to guard a tree stump waiting for rabbits

Source

Han Feizi (3rd century BCE), Five Vermin chapter

When to use it

Said of someone hoping a lucky break repeats itself, e.g. waiting for a windfall instead of applying for jobs.

The story

A farmer in the state of Song was ploughing his field when a rabbit came racing through, struck a tree stump at the field's edge, broke its neck, and died. The farmer dropped his plough, carried the rabbit home for dinner, and decided he had found a better way to farm. From that day he sat by the stump waiting for the next rabbit. No rabbit ever came, his fields went to weeds, and he became the laughing stock of Song. The philosopher Han Feizi used the tale to mock rulers who cling to old policies after the world that made them work has moved on.

Example

Characters

• 守
• 株
• 待
• 兔

More chengyu stories

• 畫蛇添足 (waak6 se4 tim1 zuk1) — To spoil something good by adding what it does not need. Used when extra touches make a finished job worse, not better.
• 亡羊補牢 (mong4 joeng4 bou2 lou4) — Losses already taken are a reason to fix the cause, not to give up. Used to encourage action after a failure: repair the hole, then carry on.
• 掩耳盜鈴 (jim2 ji5 dou6 ling4) — To pretend a problem does not exist by blocking out the evidence, in a way that fools nobody but yourself. Used for self-deception that is obvious to everyone else.
• 刻舟求劍 (hak1 zau1 kau4 gim3) — To apply a fixed rule to a situation that has already moved on. Used when someone follows the letter of an old method after its conditions have vanished.

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