古为今用

古為今用
gǔwéijīnyòng
idiom

Meanings

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

Examples

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

Tips

culture
Famously paired with 中用 (yáng wéi zhōng yòng, '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

wèi
jīn
yòng