Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
懸樑刺股. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
懸樑刺股, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
懸樑刺股 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
懸樑刺股 you have here. The definition of the word
懸樑刺股 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
懸樑刺股, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
|
|
to hang oneself from a beam
|
|
| trad. (懸樑刺股/懸梁刺股)
|
懸樑/懸梁
|
刺股
|
| simp. (悬梁刺股)
|
悬梁
|
刺股
|
| Literally: “to tie (one's hair) to the rafters (so that if one falls asleep, one will be awakened), and to prick one's thighs (in order to stay awake)”.
|
Etymology
懸樑／悬梁 (xuán liáng) refers to what Sun Jing (孫敬／孙敬) of Eastern Han did:
孫敬，字文寶，好學，晨夕不休。及至眠睡疲寢，以繩系頭，懸屋樑。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
孙敬，字文宝，好学，晨夕不休。及至眠睡疲寝，以绳系头，悬屋梁。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]- From: The Book of Han, circa 1st century CE
- Sūn Jìng, zì Wénbǎo, hǎoxué, chén xī bùxiū. Jízhì mián shuì pí qǐn, yǐ shéng xì tóu, xuán wūliáng.
- Sun Jing, courtesy name Wenbao, was studious. He would study from morning to night. When he felt sleepy, he would tie his hair with a string and hang it on the rafters (so that if he fell asleep, he would be awakened).
刺股 (cì gǔ) refers to what Su Qin did:
Pronunciation
Idiom
懸樑刺股
- to study diligently