expression
not keeping up with the times; unaware of changing circumstances
Idiomatic expression from a fable in Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals. Used to criticize someone who clings to outdated methods or fails to adapt to new situations.
彼のやり方は舟に刻みて剣を求むようなものだ。
His way of doing things is like carving a notch on a boat to find a lost sword—completely out of touch with reality.
時代が変わったのに、古い規則にこだわるのは舟に刻みて剣を求むに等しい。
Clinging to old rules when times have changed is no different from carving a mark on a moving boat to find a sword.
守株 (waiting by a stump for a hare) is another classical idiom for stubbornly sticking to old ways, but 舟に刻みて剣を求む specifically emphasizes failing to account for change or movement.
From a fable in Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals (呂氏春秋) about a man who dropped his sword from a boat and carved a notch on the boat to mark where it fell, not realizing the boat had moved. The expression is used metaphorically to describe someone who fails to adapt to changing circumstances.