📖 Meaning
To strike rocks and break ground. It describes the physical act of breaking through hard earth and stone to begin construction or cultivation. The idiom conveys the arduous labor of breaking new ground for a major undertaking.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Daoist text Liezi (《列子·汤问》), from the Warring States period. It appears in the famous story of the Foolish Old Man (愚公) who resolves to remove two great mountains blocking his home. He leads his sons and grandsons—thousands carrying baskets and hoes—to strike the rocks and break the soil, transporting the debris in baskets to the edge of the Bohai Sea. The phrase vividly depicts the sheer physical effort of the old man's clan as they undertake their monumental task.
💡 Example Usage
工人们叩石垦壤，在荒山上开辟出一条通往外界的公路。
The workers struck rocks and broke ground, carving a highway through the barren mountain to connect with the outside world.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 叩石垦壤
- Pinyin: kòu shí kěn rǎng
- Literal Translation: knock, stone, break ground, soil
- Category: Perseverance
- Characters: 4