long years of persistence

long years of persistence

As a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is ti à y à nm ó Chu à n, which has worn through all the iron inkstones. It means studying hard and having perseverance. It comes from the poem reading on a cold night by Lu You of Song Dynasty.

Idioms and allusions

origin

"New Five Dynasties History" Volume 29 "Jin Chen Zhuan · sang Weihan" Sang Weihan word overseas Chinese, Henan people. He is an ugly man with a short body and a long face. He often learns from himself and says, "a seven foot body is not as good as a one foot face. "He was determined to assist the public. At the beginning of the imperial examination, the chief executive hated his surname and used the homonym of "sang" and "mourning". Some people advised him not to be a Jinshi, but to be an official from Tuo. Weihan was very sad. He wrote Fu to see his ambition by sunrise. And cast iron inkstone to show people, said: "inkstone shortcomings, then change and Tuoshi.". He was a Jinshi. Gaozu of Jin Dynasty was appointed as the Chief Secretary of Heyang Jiedu.

interpretation

During the Five Dynasties, sang Weihan was determined to be a Jinshi. For the first time, because the examiner was superstitious, sang and mourning were homophonic, so he didn't accept him. For the second time, he wrote Fu sang at sunrise, praising Fu sang, but he didn't accept him. Friends advised him to think of other ways to be an official. He ordered an iron inkstone and said that he would only think of other ways to be an official after wearing it. Finally, he got the Jinshi. Later, he used the term "iron inkstone wear through" to describe his determination and perseverance. Sang Weihan, born in Luoyang at the end of the Tang Dynasty, is an overseas Chinese. According to historical records, he is ugly and strange, short and small, but his head and face are extremely long. He was sorry for his appearance to the audience, so he worked hard to study, wanted to make up for his shortcomings with his talent and learning, and was determined to make a career. When he was an adult, sang Weihan took the entrance examination. Unexpectedly, when the examiner saw his name, he was disgusted, and he was excluded early, because "sang" and "mourning" were homonymous and unlucky. Friends know this situation, have advised sang Weihan not to take the entrance examination in the future, can enter the official career from other ways. However, sang Weihan was not moved. He wrote down the article "Ode to the sun rising Fu sang" and vowed to gain fame in the imperial examination. At the same time, he cast an iron inkstone and showed it to everyone, saying: "unless the iron inkstone is worn out, he will never seek another official career." With unremitting efforts, sang Weihan finally achieved his wish and won the imperial examination in the third year of Tongguang in the later Tang Dynasty (925 AD). At that time, Shi Jingtang was the governor of Heyang in the later Tang Dynasty. He liked sang Weihan's writing and took him as the chief secretary. Since he became an official, sang Weihan has done anything to "harm the world". In 936 ad, after Shi Jingtang rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, sang Weihan gave him advice and wrote to Yelu Deguang, the Lord of Qidan, for help. Shi Jingtang was willing to become a father and son with him and cede his land to become a minister. He also went to Qidan in person to facilitate this. Later, Khitan sent out a large army to help Shi Jingtang become emperor and establish the later Jin Dynasty, while Shi Jingtang ceded all the sixteen prefectures of Youyun to Khitan. Because of the huge "credit", sanweihan was promoted repeatedly. With the growing power, he wantonly accepted bribes and accumulated a lot of money. In 946 ad, the Khitan army went south, and sang Weihan, 47, was killed by Shi Chonggui, the later emperor of the Jin Dynasty. What sanweihan did left great disaster to the whole world. Wang Fuzhi, a thinker at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, commented on him: "if the calamity affects all ages, the sinner of all ages should be sang Weihan since he was born."

Idiom usage

In Wang Yufeng's the burning of incense: a look at the list: "people with white hair and black gauze are enviable, but they need to know the iron and the inkstone to wear them out." In Yuan Dynasty, Wang Shifu's the first book of the romance of the Western chamber, the first fold of the first book, said: "it seems that there is no cost to study the book of songs and books. Keep the thorns warm and wear the iron inkstone through. " The first fold of fan Kang's bamboo leaf boat in Yuan Dynasty: "sitting on the cold carpet, grinding through the iron and inkstone. If you boast that the classics and history are flowing, you don't need to worry when you pick up his purple. "

Analysis of Idioms

Iron and inkstone

Idiom story

During the Five Dynasties, sang Weihan was determined to be a Jinshi. For the first time, because the examiner was superstitious, sang and mourning were homophonic, so he didn't accept him. For the second time, he wrote Fu sang at sunrise, praising Fu sang, but he didn't accept him. Friends advised him to think of other ways to be an official. He ordered an iron inkstone and said that he would only think of other ways to be an official after wearing it. Finally, I got the Jinshi

The origin of Idioms

Lu You's poem "reading on a cold night" in Song Dynasty: "Wei Bian has repeatedly worn iron inkstones, recited and copied the year by hand."