刻舟求剑
A mark on a moving boat
Read, find evidence, and explain in your own words.
Read
一个楚国人带着剑坐船过江。船在水上慢慢向前走，他一不小心，剑从船边掉进了水里。他低头看了看，水面只剩下一圈圈波纹，已经看不见剑在哪里了。
A man from Chu carried a sword onto a boat crossing a river. As the boat moved forward, he accidentally dropped the sword over the side. He looked down, but only ripples remained; he could no longer see it.
他没有记住岸边的位置，而是在剑掉下去的船边刻了一个记号。旁人问他在做什么，他说：剑是从这里掉下去的。有了记号，等船停下，我就能从这里找回它。说完，他安心地坐下了。
Instead of noting a position on the bank, he cut a mark on the boat where the sword had fallen. When asked why, he explained that the mark would show him where to search when the boat stopped. Then he sat down, satisfied.
船到了岸边，他照着记号寻找剑，当然找不到。记号跟着船走了，落在水里的剑却没有跟着船走。他记住的是船上的一个地方，错把它当成了江里固定的位置。
When the boat reached the bank, he searched beside the mark and could not find the sword. The mark had travelled with the boat, while the sword had not. He had confused a place on a moving boat with a fixed place in the river.
Explore the text
根据《吕氏春秋·察今》改写。舟是船，求是寻找。比较位置时，要先问：什么在移动，什么没有跟着移动？用纸船和桌面上的小纸片，可以安全地演示这个错误。
Adapted from Examining the Present in the Annals of Lü Buwei. Zhou means boat and qiu means seek. Ask what moves and what does not move with it. A paper boat and a paper token on a table can demonstrate the mistake.
Words to practise
刻舟求剑记