Once upon a time, there was a man from the state of Chu. He was about to cross the river by boat. He wore a precious sword, which was an heirloom of his family. The blade of the sword glistened coldly and was extremely sharp. He sat at the bow of the boat, looking at the river water from time to time and stroking the sword now and then, feeling very complacent.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew on the river, and the small boat shook a little. The man from Chu lost his balance, tilted his body, and his beloved sword "plop" and fell into the river. The others on the boat all exclaimed in surprise, but this man from Chu was unhurried. He took out a small knife from his waist and carved a deep mark on the gunwale where the sword had fallen into the water.
The people on the boat thought it was very strange and asked him, "What are you carving this mark on the gunwale for?" The man from Chu raised his head and said proudly, "My sword fell from here. When the boat docks, I will jump down from the place of this mark and be able to retrieve the sword." Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard his words.
The boat continued to move forward, and the river water kept flowing. The sword had long been washed downstream by the river. But this man from Chu was still calculating in his mind. As soon as the boat docked, he would look for the sword according to the mark. He didn't know that the river was flowing and the boat was also moving. His way of looking for the sword according to the mark was so foolish. This story tells us that things in the world are always changing constantly, and we can't deal with problems in a rigid and dogmatic way.
