只zhǐ要yào功gōng夫fu深shēn,，鐵tiě杵chǔ磨mó成chéng針zhēn

What does 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針 (zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn, tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn) mean?

只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針 (zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn, tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "With enough effort, an iron pestle can be ground into a needle." In use it means: Perseverance and sustained effort can accomplish anything, no matter how impossible it seems. The legend involves a young Lǐ Bái who was inspired by watching an old woman grinding an iron rod into a needle. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.

Literally: "With enough effort, an iron pestle can be ground into a needle.."

The reading

The impossible is simply the untried repeated enough times. What looks like a waste of effort to the impatient is the foundation of all mastery. The old woman at the grindstone does not doubt the outcome because she trusts the process. Every day a child practices what feels pointless is a day closer to a skill that feels effortless.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element金 Metal
• Zodiac tie牛 Year of the Ox

Source Legend of Lǐ Bái (李白), recorded in Fāng Yú Shèng Lǎn (方輿勝覽), Sòng Dynasty

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.