因循守旧

因循守舊

yīnxúnshǒujiù

idiom #44,778

Meanings

1 to stick stubbornly to old ways
2 to follow outdated conventions
3 conservative and resistant to change

Characters

to follow, to rely on

to follow along

to guard, to keep

Examples

企业要想发展，就不能因循守旧。

Qǐyè yào xiǎng fāzhǎn, jiù bù néng yīnxúnshǒujiù.

If a company wants to grow, it cannot cling to outdated ways.

他思想因循守旧，很难接受新事物。

Tā sīxiǎng yīnxúnshǒujiù, hěn nán jiēshòu xīn shìwù.

His thinking is stuck in the old ways, and he has a hard time accepting new things.

教学方法如果因循守旧，学生很快就会失去兴趣。

Jiàoxué fāngfǎ rúguǒ yīnxúnshǒujiù, xuésheng hěn kuài jiù huì shīqù xìngqù.

If teaching methods stick rigidly to the old ways, students will quickly lose interest.

Tips

history

From the Han Shu (《汉书·循吏传序》): 光因循守职，无所改作 — Huo Guang 'stuck to the old duties and made no changes.' Originally more neutral ('preserving tradition'); in modern use it's a criticism of failing to innovate.

usage

Pejorative. Common in business, education, and policy discourse. Opposite: 推陈出新 (push out the old, bring forth the new) or 与时俱进 (keep pace with the times).

Stroke Order

因 yīn

循 xún

守 shǒu

旧 jiù