摘要：當他到達對岸的時候，他沿着記號跳進河裏去找他的寶劍。Long ago, there was a man from the State of Chu who loved his sword very much. One day, he was sitting in his boat preparing to cross a river, when he accidentally dropped his sword into the water. He immediately made a notch on the side of the boat at the place where his dear sword fell. When he returned close to shore, he re-entered the water just beneath the notch he made, looking for his sword. Naturally, he wasn’t able to find it.。

Long ago, there was a man from the State of Chu who loved his sword very much. One day, he was sitting in his boat preparing to cross a river, when he accidentally dropped his sword into the water. He immediately made a notch on the side of the boat at the place where his dear sword fell. When he returned close to shore, he re-entered the water just beneath the notch he made, looking for his sword. Naturally, he wasn’t able to find it.

The sword was already gone because the boat and the river were in motion. This idiom is used to describe a person who sticks to rigid rules without considering a changing environment.

從前有一位楚國人, 他非常愛惜他的寶劍。有一天，他正坐在船上準備過河，一不小心他就把寶劍掉進了河裏。他馬上在寶劍掉落的地方作了記號。當他到達對岸的時候，他沿着記號跳進河裏去找他的寶劍。當然，他已經找不到了。

寶劍已經不在原來掉落的地方因爲船和水都在移動。這個故事形容只會刻板地遵守規則，不懂變通的人。