Chinese Idiom Story “守株待兔”

In the Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū 春秋时期,770-476 BC), a farmer in the State of Song (sòng guó 宋国) was one day working in the fields when he saw a rabbit bump into a tree stump accidentally and break its neck. The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, ‘I needn’t work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump.’ So from then on he gave up farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for rabbits to come and run into it.This idiom satirizes those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need.

春秋時代,宋國有個農夫,一天在耕田的時候,忽然跑來一只兔子,恰巧碰在樹樁上,脖子折斷死了。農夫把兔子拾回家去,美美地吃了一頓兔肉。晚上他想:“我何必辛辛苦苦地種地呢?每天在樹下能撿到一只兔子就夠我吃的了。”于是,他從此不再耕作,每天坐在樹下等待兔子的到來。

“守株待兔”這個成語,譏笑那些不想經過努力,存在僥幸心理,希望得到意外收獲的人。

Chūnqiū shídài, sòng guóyǒu gè nóngfū, yītiān zài gēng tián de shíhòu, hūrán pǎo lái yī zhǐ tùzǐ, qiàqiǎo pèng zài shùzhuāng shàng, bózi zhéduàn sǐle. Nóngfū bǎ tùzǐ shí huí jiā qù, měiměi dì chīle yī dùn tù ròu. Wǎnshàng tā xiǎng:“Wǒ hébì xīn xīnkǔ kǔ de zhòng dì ne? Měitiān zài shùxià néng jiǎn dào yī zhǐ tùzǐ jiù gòu wǒ chī dele.” Yúshì, tā cóngcǐ bù zài gēngzuò, měitiān zuò zài shùxià děngdài tùzǐ de dàolái.

“Shǒuzhūdàitù” zhège chéngyǔ, jīxiào nàxiē bùxiǎng jīngguò nǔlì, cúnzài jiǎoxìng xīnlǐ, xīwàng dédào yìwài shōuhuò de rén.
守株待兔(shǒu zhū dài tù)
【翻譯】Sitting by a Stump, Waiting for a Careless Hare.
【釋義】株:露出地面的樹根。原比喻希圖不經過努力而得到成功的僥幸心理。現也比喻死守狹隘
經驗,不知變通。
Zhū: Lùchū dìmiàn de shù gēn. Yuán bǐyù xī tú bù jīngguò nǔlì ér dédào chénggōng de jiǎoxìng xīnlǐ. Xiàn yě bǐyù sǐshǒu xiá’ài Jīngyàn, bùzhī biàntōng.
【例句】一個人如果想要做成大事,就千萬不能守株待兔,而要自己努力去爭取!
Yīgèrén rúguǒ xiǎng yào zuò chéng dàshì, jiù qiān wàn bùnéng shǒuzhūdàitù, ér yào zìjǐ nǔlì qù zhēngqǔ!

【近義詞】墨守成規
Mòshǒuchéngguī