Translation: There was a man from Chu who was crossing the river. His sword fell into the water from the boat. He immediately carved a mark on the side of the boat and said, “This is where my sword fell.” The boat stopped, and (the man from Chu) went into the water from the place where he carved the mark to look for the sword. The boat had moved forward, but the sword would not move with the boat. Isn’t it very foolish to look for the sword like this? Generally used to refer to people who stick to dogma, stick to the rules, and are stubborn and inflexible. It is often derogatory.
译文：楚国有个渡江的人，他的剑从船里掉到水中，他立即在船边上刻了个记号，说：“这儿是我的剑掉下去的地方。”船停了，(这个楚国人)从他刻记号的地方下水寻找剑。 船已经前进了，但是剑不会随船前进，像这样找剑，不是很糊涂吗？一般比喻死守教条，拘泥成法，固执不变通的人。多含贬义。
《古代寓言·刻舟求剑》
楚人有涉江者，其剑自舟中坠于水。
遽契其舟，曰：“是吾剑之所从坠。”
舟止，从其所契者入水求之。
——舟已行矣，而剑不行：求剑若此，不亦惑乎？
——《吕氏春秋》
Marking the Boat to Locate the Sword
A man of the state of Chu was ferrying across a river when his sword fell into the water. He lost no time in marking the side of the boat.
“This is where my sword dropped,” he said.
When the boat morred, he got into the water to look for his sword by the place which he had marked. But since the boat had moved while the sword had not, this method of locating his sword proved unsuccessful.
The Discourses of Lü Buwei
(Lv Shi Chun Qiu)
