Waiting by the Stump for Rabbits 守株待兔
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The story
In the ancient state of Song, a farmer was working his field. In the middle of it stood an old tree stump.
One day a hare came racing across the field, ran straight into the stump, and never got up. Free dinner, delivered.
The farmer put down his hoe and sat by the stump. If it happened once, he thought, it will happen again.
He waited, and waited. No hare ever came. His field went to weeds, and the whole state of Song laughed at him.
The philosopher Han Feizi said: rulers who copy the old ways for new times are just waiting by the stump. Follow for more ancient stories.
A modern reading (ours)
Han Feizi told this to mock rulers who copy old methods in new times. One lucky event is not a strategy.
Source
Han Feizi, 'Five Vermin' (Wudu) chapter, 3rd century BC. Retold in English; illustrations are AI-generated.