During the Warring States period, there was a farmer in the state of Song. One day, while working in his field, a rabbit came sprinting by, smacked into a tree stump at the edge of the field, and broke its neck.
The farmer happily pocketed the free rabbit and thought: if I can pick up a rabbit every day, why break my back farming? So he put down his hoe and waited by the stump every day for the next rabbit.
No rabbit ever came again, and his field went to ruin. The tale, from Han Feizi, became the idiom shou zhu dai tu - "guard the stump, wait for the rabbit".
It mocks those who cling to narrow experience, refuse to adapt, or dream of gains without effort. It warns: an accidental windfall is not a rule of nature.
Usage: "You can't study by waiting for luck; you must accumulate actively." A rough English equivalent is "counting on a windfall".
The tale tells of a farmer who wanted gain without effort. Working his field, a rabbit struck a tree and died; he gained cheaply.
From then on he stopped farming, guarding the stump daily. No rabbit came, while his crops all wasted away.
The story comes from Han Feizi, telling a big truth with a small tale: accidental luck is no way to make a living.
"Shǒu zhū dài tù" means: waiting on chance for gain without effort; or clinging to old methods without adapting.
Today it reminds us: luck visits the diligent, not those waiting for pie from the sky.
It also criticises empiricism: past methods that worked may not suit the present. Markets change, environments change; methods must too.
For learners it is memorable - a rabbit-waiting farmer, vivid imagery, understood at once.
Remember: a rabbit striking a tree is an accident, not a law. Want harvest? Then till the field - this is both the idiom and the lesson of life.
"Stump-waiting" and "notch-carving" are close relatives: one clings to old luck, the other to old methods. Both remind us - the world changes; people must too.
Chinese also say: "one part tillage, one part harvest." Want harvest? Till first. Want luck? Be ready first.
So rather than envying others "rabbits", till your own field. Every effort pays.
In education today it reminds students: do not chase "shortcuts". Wanting words memorised without memorising, or high scores without practice - these are modern stump-waiting. Real scores come from daily accumulation; real fluency from daily speaking. The slogan "tiān dào chóu qín" - heaven rewards diligence - says it: you will stop waiting for rabbits and honestly till the field - and the harvest never lies.
If you worry about lacking luck, remember the other side: luck will not come to you, so go to it - try and act more; the chance of meeting "rabbits" is always greater than sitting and waiting.
