The reforms worked at first, but soon the old patterns returned.
Tips
history
Attested in Mei Dingzuo's (梅鼎祚) Ming-dynasty drama 《玉合记·嗣音》 Yùhéjì: '不觉故态复萌，情缘难断' — 'before he knew it the old ways returned, the bond too hard to sever'.
memory
Read it character by character: 故 'old', 态 'manner / habits', 复 'again', 萌 'to sprout'. The literal image — old habits sprouting again — maps almost word-for-word onto English 'old habits die hard'.
