Chinese idiom-凿壁借光 záo bì jiè guāng

“Borrowing light by chiseling the wall” is an ancient Chinese idiom, which originates from the story of Kuang Heng’s diligent study in the Western Han Dynasty.

The Story

Kuang Heng was a scholar in the Western Han Dynasty. As a young man, he was very eager to learn, but due to his poor family background, he could not afford to light a lamp to study at night. To solve this difficulty, he came up with an idea: to chisel a small hole in the wall of his house and borrow the neighbor’s light to read. Through such hard work, he finally became a learned scholar of Confucian classics.

This idiom is used to describe a person’s spirit of diligent study and assiduous self-discipline. It tells us that no matter how difficult the environment is, as long as we have determination and perseverance, we can overcome difficulties and achieve our goals. This spirit is not only important for personal growth, but also plays a positive role in promoting social progress and development.

In modern society, the spirit of “borrowing light by chiseling the wall” still holds great value. Whether in study, work, or life, we need to maintain this attitude of diligent learning and constantly enrich ourselves and improve our abilities. Only in this way can we establish ourselves in a competitive society and fulfill our life values.