📖 Meaning
To keep on carving without stopping. It describes someone who works with relentless perseverance and refuses to give up halfway, no matter how difficult the task.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Encouraging Learning' chapter (《劝学》) of the Warring States-period philosopher Xunzi (荀子, c. 310–235 BC). Xunzi wrote: '锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂' — if you carve and then give up, even rotten wood cannot be broken; but if you keep carving without stopping, even metal and stone can be engraved. The metaphor was used to argue that steady, unrelenting effort leads to mastery.
💡 Example Usage
他锲而不舍地研究这门学问，终于取得了突破性的成果。
He pursued his research with unwavering perseverance and finally achieved a breakthrough.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 锲而不舍
- Pinyin: qiè ér bù shě
- Literal Translation: carve, and, not, stop
- Category: Perseverance
- Characters: 4