Definition
食古不化 is a four-character idiom (成语) that literally means 'to eat antiquity without digesting it'. It describes someone who blindly copies ancient knowledge or outdated methods without understanding or adapting them, resulting in impractical, half-baked thinking. You can use it to criticize pedantic scholars or rigid traditionalists who resist new ideas.
f.e.
to blindly follow ancient teachings without understanding or adapting thempedantic and impractical
Examples
- ，食古不化，。Tā dúshū hěn duō, dàn shí, méi fǎ jiějué shíjì wèntí.He reads a lot, but he's a half-baked pedant and can't solve real problems.
- 食古不化，。Xuéxí chuántǒng bù néng shí, yào jiéhé shídài chuàngxīn.When studying tradition, you can't blindly copy the ancients — you must innovate with the times.
- 食古不化，。Zhè zhǒng shí de zuòfǎ, zhǐ huì ràng niánqīng rén fǎngǎn.This kind of pedantic approach will only turn young people off.
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