夙興夜寐

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 58 (《詩經·衞風·氓》):

三歲為婦，靡室勞矣。
夙興夜寐，靡有朝矣。

---

三岁为妇，靡室劳矣。
夙兴夜寐，靡有朝矣。

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Sān suì wéi fù, mǐ shì láo yǐ.
Sù xīng yè mèi, mǐ yǒu zhāo yǐ.

For three years I was your wife, And thought nothing of my toil in your house.
I rose early and went to sleep late, Not intermitting my labours for a morning.

夙興夜寐

1. to work hard night and day; to burn the candle at both ends

   • 是不獨有其德，亦皆務於勤耳。況夙興夜寐，以事一人，卿大夫猶然，況宰相乎？
     是不独有其德，亦皆务于勤耳。况夙兴夜寐，以事一人，卿大夫犹然，况宰相乎？

     From: c. 989, 王禹偁 (Wang Yucheng),《待漏院記》

     Shì bùdú yǒu qí dé, yì jiē wù yú qín ěr. Kuàng sùxìngyèmèi, yǐ shì yīrén, qīngdàfū yóurán, kuàng zǎixiàng hū?

     They were distinguished not only by their noble virtues, but also by their admirable diligence, for they rose early in the morning and reposed late at night to serve their sovereigns. If ministers still behaved like this, how could premiers do otherwise?

   • 沒有夙興夜寐的程序員，中國互聯網產業無法實現「彎道超車」，成就一個又一個估值過億的企業；
     没有夙兴夜寐的程序员，中国互联网产业无法实现「弯道超车」，成就一个又一个估值过亿的企业；

     From: 2019 April 29, 仲青平 (Zhong Qingping), 《向所有奋斗中的劳动者致敬》, in China Youth Daily, page 1

     méiyǒu sùxìngyèmèi de chéngxùyuán, zhōngguó hùliánwǎng chǎnyè wúfǎ shíxiàn “wāndào chāochē”, chéngjiù yīge yòu yīge gūzhí guò yì de qǐyè;

     @ Weren’t there programmers working hard all day long, China’s Internet industries would never “overtake on the bend”, evolving into billions-valued enterprises one after one. @