📖 Meaning
Describes someone who studies with extreme diligence and self-discipline, willing to endure physical discomfort to stay awake and focused. It evokes the image of a scholar so determined that he ties his hair to a roof beam to prevent dozing off, and pricks his own thigh with an awl to ward off sleep.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom combines two legendary stories of relentless study. The first, 'hanging the head,' refers to Sun Jing of the Han Dynasty, who tied his hair to a ceiling beam so that nodding off would yank him awake. The second, 'pricking the thigh,' refers to Su Qin of the Warring States period, who stabbed his own thigh with an awl whenever drowsiness crept in during his studies. The phrase appears in the Dunhuang bianwen manuscript '齖䶗书,' which mentions Su Qin as the exemplar of this grueling study regimen. Together, these stories became emblematic of the lengths to which ancient scholars would go in pursuit of knowledge.
💡 Example Usage
他悬头刺股苦读三年，终于考上了理想的大学。
He studied with the discipline of hanging his head from a beam and pricking his thigh for three years, and finally got into his dream university.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 悬头刺股
- Pinyin: xuán tóu cì gǔ
- Literal Translation: hang head, prick thigh
- Category: Perseverance
- Characters: 4