株守

zhūshǒu

verb

Meanings

1 to stick stubbornly to something
2 to cling rigidly to old ways
3 to never let go of a fixed idea

Characters

tree stump; trunk

to guard; to keep watch

Examples

HSK 5

时代变了，不能再株守旧法。

Shídài biàn le, bùnéng zài zhūshǒu jiù fǎ.

Times have changed; we can no longer cling rigidly to the old methods.

HSK 7-9

他株守家产，不愿外出闯荡。

Tā zhūshǒu jiāchǎn, bú yuàn wàichū chuǎngdàng.

He clung stubbornly to the family estate, unwilling to venture out into the world.

Tips

history

Comes from the well-known 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù, "guard the stump waiting for a rabbit") parable in 《韩非子·五蠹》 (Han Feizi, Five Vermin), where a farmer abandons his work to stand by the stump where a rabbit once accidentally killed itself. 株守 distills the moral: stubborn passivity in hopes of repeating dumb luck.

Stroke Order

株 zhū

守 shǒu