墨守成规 mò shǒu chéng guī stick to the old rules

Explanation

墨守成规是指思想保守，守着老规矩不肯改变。比喻固守经验，缺乏创新精神。

墨守成规 (mò shǒu chéng guī) means to stick to the old rules and regulations, unwilling to change. It is used to describe someone who is conservative and sticks to their habits.

Origin Story

战国时期，著名的思想家墨子，以其精湛的防御技术和独特的思想闻名于世。他非常擅长防守，并发展出一套完整的防御体系，这套体系的核心思想是“兼爱”和“非攻”，主张以防守为主，避免战争。墨子的思想在当时非常有影响力，很多诸侯国都采用他的防御策略。然而，墨子的防御思想也存在着一定局限性，即过于强调防守，而忽视了进攻的重要性。这种思想在后世被人们总结为“墨守成规”。故事中的楚国攻打宋国，鲁班为楚军设计云梯，墨子则以其防御体系成功阻止了这场战争，这便是墨守成规一词的来源。然而，这种过度依赖既有经验的防守策略，有时也会限制发展和创新。虽然墨子的防御体系在当时非常有效，但在不断变化的战争形势下，墨守成规的策略终将落后。

zhànguó shíqī, zhùmíng de sīxiǎngjiā mòzǐ, yǐ qí jīngzhàn de fángyù jìshù hé dú tè de sīxiǎng wénmíng yú shì. tā fēicháng shàncháng fángyù, bìng fāzhǎn chū yī tào wánzhěng de fángyù tǐxì, zhè tào tǐxì de héxīn sīxiǎng shì "jiān'ài" hé "fēigōng", zhǔzhāng yǐ fángyù wéi zhǔ, bìmiǎn zhànzhēng. mòzǐ de sīxiǎng zài dāngshí fēicháng yǒu yǐngxiǎnglì, hěn duō zhūhóu guó dōu cǎiyòng tā de fángyù cèlüè. rán'ér, mòzǐ de fángyù sīxiǎng yě cúnzài zhe yīdìng júxiànxìng, jí guòyú qiángdiào fángyù, ér hūshì le gōngjī de zhòngyàoxìng. zhè zhǒng sīxiǎng zài hòushì bèi rénmen zǒngjié wèi "mò shǒu chéng guī". gùshì zhōng de chǔ guó gōngdǎ sòng guó, lǔbān wèi chǔjūn shèjì yúntī, mòzǐ zé yǐ qí fángyù tǐxì chénggōng zǔzhǐ le zhè chǎng zhànzhēng, zhè biàn shì mò shǒu chéng guī yī cí de láiyuán. rán'ér, zhè zhǒng guòdù yīkào jìyǒu jīngyàn de fángyù cèlüè, yǒushí yě huì xiànzhì fāzhǎn hé chuàngxīn. suīrán mòzǐ de fángyù tǐxì zài dāngshí fēicháng yǒuxiào, dàn zài bùduàn biànhuà de zhànzhēng xíngshì xià, mò shǒu chéng guī de cèlüè zhōng jiāng luòhòu.

During the Warring States period, the famous thinker Mozi was known for his superb defensive techniques and unique ideas. He was exceptionally skilled in defense and developed a complete defensive system. The core ideology of this system was "universal love" and "non-aggression," advocating for prioritizing defense and avoiding war. Mozi's ideas were very influential at that time, with many feudal states adopting his defensive strategies. However, Mozi's defensive ideology also had limitations, namely the overemphasis on defense and neglect of the importance of offense. This way of thinking was later summarized as "墨守成规". The story of Chu attacking Song, with Luban designing siege ladders for the Chu army, and Mozi successfully preventing this war with his defensive system, is the origin of the idiom "墨守成规". However, such over-reliance on existing defensive strategies can sometimes limit development and innovation.

Usage

该成语通常作谓语、定语、宾语，形容思想保守，不思进取。

gāi chéngyǔ tōngcháng zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ, bǐnyǔ, xíngróng sīxiǎng bǎoshǒu, bù sī jìnqǔ

This idiom is often used as predicate, attributive, or object to describe conservative and unprogressive thinking.

Examples

• 他墨守成规，不愿尝试新的方法。

  tā mò shǒu chéng guī, bù yuàn chángshì xīn de fāngfǎ

  He sticks to the old rules and refuses to try new methods.

• 公司墨守成规，导致市场份额下降。

  gōngsī mò shǒu chéng guī, dǎozhì shìchǎng fèn'é xià jiàng

  The company sticks to the old rules, leading to a decline in market share.

• 这个团队墨守成规，缺乏创新精神。

  zhège tuánduì mò shǒu chéng guī, quēfá chuàngxīn jīngshen

  This team sticks to the old rules and lacks innovation spirit

Related Idioms

• 因循守旧

• 故步自封

• 抱残守缺

• 落后

Opposite Idioms

• 推陈出新

• 革故鼎新

• 与时俱进