削足适履 cut feet to fit shoes
Explanation
比喻不顾实际情况，硬要凑合；也比喻为了适应某种情况而委屈自己或损害自己的利益。
The idiom describes blindly following rules without considering practicality or making oneself suffer to fit a situation.
Origin Story
春秋时期，楚国有个官员，名叫弃疾。他奉命去治理蔡国。楚灵王死后，朝中大臣吴起怂恿弃疾自立为王。弃疾杀死太子，拥立自己为王。他为了巩固王位，决定去讨伐徐国，好杀鸡儆猴。但是，他却遇到了一个难题。他手下的士兵大多数是蔡国人。他们对新统治者缺乏信任，人心惶惶。为了解决这个问题，弃疾想了一个办法：他让士兵们宣誓效忠，承诺一旦违背誓言，便要承担后果。但是，这个办法并没有取得预期的效果。因为士兵们心里并没有真正臣服。弃疾无奈，他决定改变策略，他想出一个办法：他命令士兵们都穿一种统一的服装。这样，看起来，他们就会像一个整体。他的想法看起来很荒谬，但反映了他那种不懂变通、墨守成规的做法。
During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a Chu official named Qi Ji. He was appointed to govern the state of Cai. After the death of King Ling of Chu, court minister Wu Qi encouraged Qi Ji to become king himself. Qi Ji killed the crown prince and proclaimed himself king. To consolidate his power, he decided to attack Xu. But he encountered a problem: most of his soldiers were from Cai, and they were distrustful of the new ruler. To solve this, Qi Ji had the soldiers swear an oath of allegiance, threatening consequences for betrayal. However, it didn’t work because their loyalty wasn’t genuine. Qi Ji changed tactics; he ordered his soldiers to wear identical uniforms to project unity. This absurd idea reflected his inflexible and rigid approach.
Usage
用来比喻不顾具体情况，机械地照搬照套。
It's used to describe blindly following rules or copying without considering the specific circumstances.
Examples
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他总是生搬硬套，削足适履，不懂得变通。
ta zongshi shengban yingtao, xuezushi, budongde biantong. wei le shiying xin huanjing, ta buxi xuezushi, zhongyu que shideqifan
He always blindly follows rules, disregarding practicality; it’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
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为了适应新环境，他不惜削足适履，最终却适得其反。
In order to adapt to the new environment, he was willing to change himself drastically, but it backfired in the end.