坐吃山空

坐吃山空:

Literally means:

sit idle and eat, and in time your whole fortune will be used up mountain

Actually means:

This phrase means spending without production or earning, one can eventually use up though his fortune is as immense as a mountain full of gold or silver.

It figuratively means that, if one only rests upon the old experience without trying to acquire new knowledge, one will end up as a useless person.

Such bleak end may result from one's own problems like laziness or sloth, or it may be due to external causes like un employment or bankruptcy.

只坐着吃，山也要被吃空。

坐吃山空，只消费而不生产或没有收入，即使拥有金山银山一样的资财，也会消耗光的。

也比喻不学习新知识，光吃老本，将变为没有本事的人。

既有本身的原因，如好吃懒做，也有外部的原因，如失业或破产。