Meaning of 食古不化
食古不化 means to study ancient knowledge without being able to apply it; to swallow ancient learning without digesting it; rigid adherence to tradition without adaptation. Pronounced shí gǔ bù huà.
- to study ancient knowledge without being able to apply it; to swallow ancient learning without digesting it; rigid adherence to tradition without adaptation
Definitions & Examples
Dú读
lì历
shǐ史
rú如
guǒ果
shí食
gǔ古
bù不
huà化
，
jiù就
wú无
fǎ法
yìng应
yòng用
yú于
xiàn现
dài代
shè社
huì会
。
If you study history without digesting it, you cannot apply it to modern society.
Xué学
xí习
chuán传
tǒng统
wén文
huà化
yào要
bì避
miǎn免
shí食
gǔ古
bù不
huà化
，
yīng应
gāi该
qǔ取
qí其
jīng精
huá华
qù去
qí其
zāo糟
pò粕
。
When learning traditional culture, one must avoid swallowing it whole without digesting it; instead, we should extract the essence and discard the dross.
Zhè这
wèi位
jiào教
shòu授
suī虽
rán然
bó博
xué学
，
dàn但
yǒu有
shí时
xiǎn显
de得
shí食
gǔ古
bù不
huà化
。
Although this professor is erudite, he sometimes appears unable to adapt ancient learning to modern contexts.
Wǒ我
men们
bù不
néng能
shí食
gǔ古
bù不
huà化
，
ér而
yào要
bǎ把
gǔ古
dài代
zhì智
huì慧
hé和
xiàn现
dài代
shēng生
huó活
jié结
hé合
qǐ起
lái来
。
We cannot follow ancient texts too rigidly; instead, we must combine ancient wisdom with modern life.