A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword^{1 fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat.
This is where my sword fell off, he said.
When the boat sTOPped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.
The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?}

戰國時，楚國有個人乘船渡江。船到江心，他一不小心。把隨身攜帶的一把寶劍脫落江中。他立刻掏出一把小刀，在船舷上刻上一個記號，說：這是我寶劍溺水的地方，所以我要刻上一個記號。

船靠岸后，那楚人立即從船上刻記號的地方跳下水去撈取脫落的寶劍。撈了半天，仍不見寶劍的影子。其實他又如何找得到寶劍呢？船繼續行駛，而寶劍卻不會再移動。像他如此去找劍，真是太愚蠢可笑了。