百: hundred, many
足: foot, leg
之: of, with
虫: worm, insect, bug
死: dead, die
而: however, but
不: not
僵: fall down, stop wriggling, stiff, topple over
Literal translation: A centipede with hundreds of legs does not topple over even when dead.
It means rich or noble family (or people), they still have enormous amount of influence or much money left even when they go broke.
Corresponding English idiom: Old institutions die hard.
Example sentence: China already entered a new era long time ago, but there are still many old opinions staying in people's mind, old institutions die hard.
(中国早已经进入新纪元, 但一些陈旧的思想如百足之虫, 死而不僵.)
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