Let the stones guide you step by step across the river.

Meaning :
Gradually move step by step until you reach your target.

"Mo zhe shi tou guo he", or cross the river by groping the stone under foot, has, for a long time, been a pet phrase of Chinese policy-makers. The gradualism they think has helped China avoid the sometimes destructive impact following the bold shock remedy taken by, for example, Russia.

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2006/01/cro...

摸着石头过河：Crossing a river by Feeling stones. [#2263961@0 ...- [ Translate this page ]摸着石头过河：Feeling stones while crossing a river. 鳞次栉比：Packed in as tight as teeth of a comb. 一人得道，鸡犬升天：When one man finds the way, ...
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Chinadaily BBS - Translation of Special Chinese Terms - 摸着石头过 ...- [ Translate this page ]wading across the river by feeling stones along the way ... “摸着石头过河”是革命者的发明，也是革命者的无奈。本来，所谓革命，就原本没有现成的石头可摸的，手里 ...
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Chinadaily BBS - Translation Tips 翻译点津- C-E: how to translate ...- [ Translate this page ]Subject: C-E: how to translate "摸着石头过河" into English？ ... which literally means " to cross the river by feeling the stones under the feet". ...
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[ More results from bbs.chinadaily.com.cn ]

---http://ijgls.indiana.edu/subscriptions/Vol12_Issue1.shtml
"Glocalizing" Chinese Higher Education: Groping for Stones to Cross the River...

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=6737
He also concludes that the Beijing Consensus should be more appealing to developing countries. Unlike its Washington counterpart, the Beijing Consensus "reflects the ancient Chinese philosophical outlook that makes little distinction between theory and practice" and is "flexible enough not to be classifiable as a doctrine." In short, it is more akin to Mao Zedong's edict of "groping stones to cross the river."

As we can see that "groping stones to cross the river" is well accepted by English newspapers and magazines. There are also many hits on http://www.google.com/.