古为今用

古為今用
gǔwéi-jīnyòng
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to adapt the past for present use
  2. 2 to put the ancient at the service of today

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā shàncháng bǎ chuántǒng wényàng gǔwéi-jīnyòng.
He's skilled at adapting traditional patterns for modern use.
HSK 7-9
Yánjiū gǔjí de mùdì zàiyú gǔwéi-jīnyòng.
The point of studying classics is to apply them today.

Tips

culture
Famously paired with 洋为中用 ('foreign for Chinese use'). Together the two slogans were policy language in the Mao era for adapting tradition and Western technology.
usage
Common in design, scholarship, and cultural policy writing.

Stroke Order

wéi
jīn
yòng