故步自封
gù bù zì fēng
to stick to old ways and refuse to move on
Character by character
故gù
old
old
步bù
step
step
自zì
self
self
封fēng
confine
confine
Example
技术变化这么快，企业要是故步自封，很快就会被市场淘汰。
Technology moves so fast that a firm that sticks to its old ways will soon be swept out of the market.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
故步 is “one’s old way of walking”: to hem oneself in with it. Also written 固步自封. Common after 不能 or 不要, and a stock phrase for the late Qing; close to 因循守旧 (2-17).
Learn this in Lesson 99 · HSK 6–7: 康乾盛世 (The High Qing of Kangxi and Qianlong)
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