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Mythic Mandarin

Rigid thinking: 刻舟求剑

HSK 6 Unit 9: Classic tales retold · Lesson 4 of 5 · About 26 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can retell the story behind 刻舟求剑, use it to criticise rigid thinking, and review the classical words of this unit.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 对牛弹琴 mean?

    1. proposal, to propose
    2. remote, far-flung
    3. to play the lute to a cow, to talk to the wrong audience
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, to play the lute to a cow, to talk to the wrong audience.

    对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) means to play the lute to a cow, to talk to the wrong audience.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to comfort”?

    1. 提议
    2. 安慰
    3. 提纲
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 安慰.

    “to comfort” is 安慰 (ānwèi).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    偏远 piānyuǎn

    1. effective
    2. classroom
    3. remote, far-flung
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, remote, far-flung.

    You heard 偏远 (piānyuǎn): remote, far-flung.

New words

  • 刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiànto mark the boat to find a lost sword, rigid thinking
  • 刻kèto carve
  • 剑jiànsword
  • 掉diàoto drop, to fall
  • 记号jìhaomark, sign
  • 死板sǐbǎnrigid, inflexible

Classical words in an idiom

刻舟求剑 is four classical words: 刻 (carve) 舟 (boat) 求 (seek) 剑 (sword). In modern Chinese, 舟 is 船 and 求 is 找. The idiom criticises someone who does not change when the situation changes.

  • 时代变了，方法也要变，不能刻舟求剑。

    Shídài biàn le, fāngfǎ yě yào biàn, bù néng kè zhōu qiú jiàn.

    Times have changed, so methods must change too. We can't be rigid.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

The man who marked his boat

Mark retells a story he read for class.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

Helpful words: 舟 zhōu boat (classical); 求 qiú to seek; 宝剑 bǎojiàn fine sword; 岸边 ànbiān shore; 下水 xiàshuǐ to go into the water

  1. Listening

    Listen first. Where did the sword fall?

    1. into the river
    2. on the shore
    3. in the boat
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, into the river.

    掉进了水里.

  2. Listening

    Why didn't he find the sword?

    1. the water was far too deep
    2. someone else had taken it
    3. the boat had moved but the sword had not
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, the boat had moved but the sword had not.

    船一直在走，剑却没有动.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 马克

    古时候Gǔshíhou，楚国Chǔguó有yǒu一yí个gè人rén坐zuò船chuán过guò河hé。

    In ancient times, a man from the state of Chu was crossing a river by boat.

  2. 马克

    船Chuán到dào了le河hé中间zhōngjiān，他tā的de宝剑bǎojiàn一yí不bù小心xiǎoxīn掉diào进jìn了le水shuǐ里lǐ。

    In the middle of the river, his fine sword slipped and fell into the water.

  3. 苏菲

    他Tā马上mǎshàng下水xiàshuǐ去qù找zhǎo了le吗ma？

    Did he go into the water to find it straight away?

  4. 马克

    没有Méiyǒu。他Tā在zài船chuán上shàng剑jiàn掉diào下去xiàqu的de地方dìfang刻kè了le一yí个gè记号jìhao，说shuō：“这zhè是shì我wǒ的de剑jiàn掉diào下去xiàqu的de地方dìfang。”

    No. He carved a mark on the boat where the sword fell and said: "This is where my sword fell in."

  5. 马克

    船Chuán停tíng在zài岸边ànbiān以后yǐhòu，他tā就jiù从cóng刻kè记号jìhao的de地方dìfang下水xiàshuǐ找zhǎo剑jiàn，当然dāngrán没méi找到zhǎodào。

    When the boat stopped at the shore, he went into the water at the mark to look for the sword, and of course found nothing.

  6. 苏菲

    船Chuán一直yìzhí在zài走zǒu，剑jiàn却què没有méiyǒu动dòng。他Tā太tài死板sǐbǎn了le！

    The boat kept moving, but the sword didn't. He was far too rigid!

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 船停在岸边以后，他就从刻记号的地方下水找剑，当然没找到。

    Chuán tíng zài ànbiān yǐhòu, tā jiù cóng kè jìhao de dìfang xiàshuǐ zhǎo jiàn, dāngrán méi zhǎodào.

    When the boat stopped at the shore, he went into the water at the mark to look for the sword, and of course found nothing.

  • 船一直在走，剑却没有动。他太死板了！

    Chuán yìzhí zài zǒu, jiàn què méiyǒu dòng. Tā tài sǐbǎn le!

    The boat kept moving, but the sword didn't. He was far too rigid!

  • 船到了河中间，他的宝剑一不小心掉进了水里。

    Chuán dào le hé zhōngjiān, tā de bǎojiàn yí bù xiǎoxīn diào jìn le shuǐ lǐ.

    In the middle of the river, his fine sword slipped and fell into the water.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 刻舟求剑 mean?

    1. to keep at it, to persist
    2. to mark the boat to find a lost sword, rigid thinking
    3. thesis, academic paper
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, to mark the boat to find a lost sword, rigid thinking.

    刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) means to mark the boat to find a lost sword, rigid thinking.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to carve”?

    1. 掉
    2. 剑
    3. 刻
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 刻.

    “to carve” is 刻 (kè).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 剑 (sword)?

    1. jiǎn
    2. jián
    3. jiàn
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, jiàn.

    剑 is read jiàn. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    掉 diào

    1. at, in (a place)
    2. to drop, to fall
    3. tolerant, forgiving
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, to drop, to fall.

    You heard 掉 (diào): to drop, to fall.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “mark, sign” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 记号

    “mark, sign” is 记号 (jìhao).

  6. Grammar

    In 刻舟求剑, which character means to seek?

    1. 求
    2. 刻
    3. 舟
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 求.

    求: to seek (modern 找).

  7. Fill the gap

    Complete: The market has changed; don't be so rigid.

    市场变了，你别再＿＿了。

    1. 对牛弹琴
    2. 画龙点睛
    3. 刻舟求剑
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 刻舟求剑.

    刻舟求剑: rigid thinking.

  8. In context

    Someone always follows the old rules, even when they clearly no longer work. How is he?

    1. 很生动
    2. 很神奇
    3. 很死板
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 很死板.

    很死板: 死板: rigid.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for sword

    Show the answer

    Answer: 剑

    剑: sword.

Don't mark the boat

Give an example out loud of rigid thinking at work, at school or in daily life, in six sentences.

  1. Describe the old situation and the rule.
  2. Describe how the situation changed.
  3. Criticise the rigid response with 刻舟求剑.
  4. Suggest a more flexible way.

Sentence frames

  • 情况已经变了，不能刻舟求剑。

    Qíngkuàng yǐjīng biàn le, bù néng kè zhōu qiú jiàn.

    The situation has changed; we can't be rigid.

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can retell the story of 刻舟求剑 and use the idiom.
  • I can read the four classical words in 刻舟求剑.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Reading: the Foolish Old Man moves the mountains