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Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

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Hard Work Can Turn An Iron Rod Into A Needle

铁杵成针

tiě chǔ chéng zhēn

Li Bai (李白) was one of the greatest poets in China's Tang Dynasty, which is often considered China's ‘golden age’ of poetry. Approximately 1,100 poems attributed to him remain today, including thirty-four in the popular anthology, 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.

Legend has it that Li Bai was originally the God in charge of poetry in Heaven, but he offended the Heavenly Emperor and thus was exiled to Earth where he became a son of a rich merchant.

Brilliant and talented as he was, little Li Bai disliked studying and often skipped class to play. One day, when he was fishing by a river, he saw a white-haired old woman grinding an iron rod on a big stone.

Out of curiosity Li Bai came up and asked: "What are you doing, Ayi? "

"I'm grinding this iron rod," the old women said kindly, but did not stop her work.

"Why are you doing that?" Li Bai asked.

"I want to make a sewing needle," was the reply.

"What?!" exclaimed Li Bai, surprised, "You want to grind such a thick rod into a tiny needle? It is impossible!"

"Anything is possible, as long as you stick to it." The old woman looked at Li Bai, her eyes shining with intelligence, "I know it may take me decades to make a needle from this rod, but it doesn't matter. As long as I persevere in grinding, I will definitely make a needle. Remember there is nothing you cannot achieve as long as you stick to it."

Li Bai was deeply moved by the old woman's words. He went back to his school and from then on he studied diligently and became a great poet and scholar.

Later, Li Bai travelled to Tai Mountain (Tai Shan), where he visited the temple of Bi Xia Yuan Jun (a goddess in Chinese myth). He found the statue of the goddess looked very familiar. That night he dreamed that he saw the old woman again. She introduced herself as Bi Xia Yuan Jun and told Li Bai that many years ago she saw him neglect his studies, so she turned into an old woman and taught him a lesson.

The saying Hard Work Can Turn An Iron Rod Into A Needle, tiě chǔ chéng zhēn, refers to being extremely talented but realising that it requires hard work and dedication to fully develop that talent.

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FREE Chinese Grammar for the Day: Zai

Graeme has been using ChinesePod since 2007

"I highly recommend ChinesePod, I haven't found any Online teaching programmes that come close."

Chinese Grammar for the Day

在 (zài)

在 (zài) comes before a verb to indicate that an action is in progress. In English we say, "I am doing (it)," and the Chinese equivalent is 我在做 (wǒ zài zuò).

This 在 (zài) is difficult to translate as an isolated word, and on ChinesePod is often glossed as "currently" (to indicate "in progress").

你在干吗？
(What are you up to?)

安静点，宝宝在睡觉呢。
(Quiet -- the baby is sleeping!)

王经理在开会，没办法接电话。
(Manager Wang is in a meeting. He can't answer the phone.)

我们在唱歌，你要不要加入？
(Show Translation)

不好意思，我在吃饭，待会再打电话给你。
(Sorry, I'm eating. I'll call you again in a bit.)

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