📖 Meaning
Describes a person of unyielding moral integrity and indomitable spirit, as firm and unbending as forged iron. It evokes someone who stands resolute in the face of adversity, refusing to compromise their principles regardless of hardship or temptation.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom first appears in the contemporary Chinese writer Ke Yan's essay collection 'Strange Letters: The Pursuer of Beauty'. In a celebrated passage, Ke Yan writes that violent storms may sweep away withered branches and fallen leaves, but what remains standing is the 'iron backbone' — a metaphor for those whose character endures when all that is weak and superficial has been stripped away. Though not drawn from a classical dynasty, the phrase quickly entered the modern Chinese lexicon as a powerful symbol of moral fortitude.
💡 Example Usage
他虽身陷囹圄多年，却始终不失铮铮铁骨。
Though imprisoned for many years, he never lost his ironclad integrity.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 铮铮铁骨
- Pinyin: zhēng zhēng tiě gǔ
- Literal Translation: clanging, clanging, iron, bone
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4