書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟
See also: 書山有路勤爲徑，學海無涯苦作舟 and 书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟
Chinese
| book; letter | mountain; hill | to have; there is; there are to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be |
road; path; way | diligent; frequent | because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become |
path | knowledge is infinite like a boundless ocean; there is no limits to what one can learn | bitter; intensely; miserable bitter; intensely; miserable; painful |
to regard as; to take (someone) for; to do to regard as; to take (someone) for; to do; to make |
boat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟/書山有路勤爲徑，學海無涯苦作舟) | 書 | 山 | 有 | 路 | 勤 | 為/爲 | 徑 | ， | 學海無涯 | 苦 | 作 | 舟 | |
| simp. (书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟) | 书 | 山 | 有 | 路 | 勤 | 为 | 径 | ， | 学海无涯 | 苦 | 作 | 舟 | |
| Literally: “The mountain of books has one way and hard work serves as the path, the sea of learning has no end and effort makes the boat.” | |||||||||||||
Etymology
It is a duilian, with identical parts of speech in each corresponding character: noun-noun-verb-noun-noun-verb-noun. The third corresponding characters are antonyms.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): syu1 saan1 jau5 lou6 kan4 wai4 ging3, hok6 hoi2 mou4 ngaai4 fu2 zok3 zau1
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: shū shān yǒu lù qín wéi jìng, xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu
- Zhuyin: ㄕㄨ ㄕㄢ ㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄨˋ ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧㄥˋ , ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄏㄞˇ ㄨˊ ㄧㄚˊ ㄎㄨˇ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄓㄡ
- Tongyong Pinyin: shu shan yǒu lù cín wéi jìng, syué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò jhou
- Wade–Giles: shu1 shan1 yu3 lu4 chʻin2 wei2 ching4, hsüeh2 hai3 wu2 ya2 kʻu3 tso4 chou1
- Yale: shū shān yǒu lù chín wéi jìng-, sywé hǎi wú yá kǔ dzwò jōu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shu shan yeou luh chyn wei jinq, shyue hae wu ya kuu tzuoh jou
- Palladius: шу шань ю лу цинь вэй цзин, сюэ хай у я ку цзо чжоу (šu šanʹ ju lu cinʹ vɛj czin, sjue xaj u ja ku czo čžou)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ʂu⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ lu⁵¹ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ jä³⁵ kʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: syu1 saan1 jau5 lou6 kan4 wai4 ging3, hok6 hoi2 mou4 ngaai4 fu2 zok3 zau1
- Yale: syū sāan yáuh louh kàhn wàih ging, hohk hói mòuh ngàaih fú jok jāu
- Cantonese Pinyin: sy1 saan1 jau5 lou6 kan4 wai4 ging3, hok9 hoi2 mou4 ngaai4 fu2 dzok8 dzau1
- Guangdong Romanization: xu1 san1 yeo5 lou6 ken4 wei4 ging3, hog6 hoi2 mou4 ngai4 fu2 zog3 zeo1
- Sinological IPA (key): /syː⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵ jɐu̯¹³ lou̯²² kʰɐn²¹ wɐi̯²¹ kɪŋ³³ hɔːk̚² hɔːi̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ ŋaːi̯²¹ fuː³⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟
- (literary) one must be hardworking and diligent to achieve good results; knowledge is infinite
- 2015 June 8, “大家談中國：讓高考「作弊神器」無所遁形 [Everyone Discusses China: Making "Magic Devices for Cheating" for the College Entrance Examination Nowhere to Hide]”, in BBC News 中文 [BBC News Chinese][1]:
- 除了學生自己的「書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟」還要配備上家長的「眼觀四路、耳聽八方」和全方位的服務來助力高考。 [MSC, trad.]
- Chúle xuéshēng zìjǐ de “shū shān yǒu lù qín wèi jìng ， xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu” hái yào pèibèi shàng jiācháng de “yǎn guān sì lù, ěrtīngbāfāng” hé quánfāngwèi de fúwù lái zhùlì gāokǎo. [Pinyin]
- In addition to students' own studying perseverance, they must also be equipped with their parents' vigilance and all-round services to assist in the college entrance exam.
除了学生自己的「书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟」还要配备上家长的「眼观四路、耳听八方」和全方位的服务来助力高考。 [MSC, simp.]
- 2017 July 24, 王百慶, “快樂教育是——教育出快樂，學習不等於要吃苦 [Happy education means education bring joy, and learning is unequal to suffering]”, in 大紀元時報 [The Epoch Times][2]:
- 現在很多孩子談到讀書學習，馬上就聯想到痛苦，猶如談虎色變，表現出極度恐懼和不情願，對讀書學習的態度也是避之唯恐不及。常言道：「書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟」，學習跟吃苦劃等號，這應該是我們大多數人都認可，而且是從親身經歷所總結出來的「真理」。 [MSC, trad.]
- Xiànzài hěnduō háizǐ tándào dúshū xuéxí, mǎshàng jiù liánxiǎng dào tòngkǔ, yóurú tánhǔsèbiàn, biǎoxiàn chū jídù kǒngjù hé bù qíngyuàn, duì dúshū xuéxí de tàidù yě shì bì zhī wéikǒngbùjí. Chángyándào: “Shū shān yǒu lù qín wèi jìng ， xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu”, xuéxí gēn chīkǔ huàděnghào, zhè yìnggāi shì wǒmen dàduōshù rén dōu rènkě, érqiě shì cóng qīnshēnjīnglì suǒ zǒngjié chūlái de “zhēnlǐ”. [Pinyin]
- Many children nowadays immediately associate studying and learning with pain when the topic comes up. They react like someone who turns pale at the mention of a tiger, showing extreme fear and reluctance, and their attitude towards studying is one of avoiding it like the plague. As the common saying goes, "Diligence is the path through the mountain of books; hardship is the boat across the sea of learning," equating learning with enduring hardship is a "truth" that most of us acknowledge, and one that is drawn from our own personal experiences.
现在很多孩子谈到读书学习，马上就联想到痛苦，犹如谈虎色变，表现出极度恐惧和不情愿，对读书学习的态度也是避之唯恐不及。常言道：「书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟」，学习跟吃苦划等号，这应该是我们大多数人都认可，而且是从亲身经历所总结出来的「真理」。 [MSC, simp.]
-
- 古語有云：「書山有路勤為徑，學海無涯苦作舟。」圖書館可以算是我們的實體書山，在這個書山內，更能體會到學海無涯的道理。 [MSC, trad.]
- Gǔyǔ yǒu yún: “Shū shān yǒu lù qín wèi jìng ， xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu.” Túshūguǎn kěyǐ suànshì wǒmen de shítǐ shū shān, zài zhège shū shān nèi, gèng néng tǐhuì dào xuéhǎiwúyá de dàolǐ. [Pinyin]
- As the old saying goes: "Diligence is the path to the mountain of books, and hardship is the boat across the sea of learning." A library can be considered our physical "mountain of books"; within it, we can better comprehend the truth that the sea of learning has no bounds.
古语有云：「书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟。」图书馆可以算是我们的实体书山，在这个书山内，更能体会到学海无涯的道理。 [MSC, simp.]
Further reading
- duilian (poetry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia