胸有成竹

Xiōng Yǒu Chéng Zhú

心里已经有了完整的计划,做事很有把握。

The bamboo is already formed in your chest — you have a full plan and perfect confidence.

běisòngyǒuwèihuàjiājiàowénzuìàihuàzhúzixiàdezhúzizhīshēngkànjiùxiàngzhēndeyàngjiādōuqiǎngzheyàodehuà

wèilehuàhǎozhúziwénzàiyuànzizhòngleduōzhúguǎnshìchūntiāndenènsǔnxiàtiāndenóng绿háishìqiūtiāndehuángdōngtiāndebáixuědōutiāntiānzǎikànzhīrènzhēnzàixīn

shíjiānchánglezhúzideyàngzizǎowánwánzhěngzhěngyìnzàidenǎohǎizhōngzhǐyàoshàngyǎnjīngzhěngzhūzhúzijiùjīngchūxiànzàixīn——gēnxiānhuàgēnhòuhuàdōuqīngqīngchǔchǔ

dehǎopéngyǒudōngkuāshuō:“huàzhúzhīqiánxīnzhōngjīngyǒulezhěngzhūwánzhěngdezhúzi。”zhèjiùshìxiōngyǒuchéngzhúdelái

hòuláirénmenyòngxiōngyǒuchéngzhúláixíngróngzuòjiànshìqíngzhīqiánxīnjīngxiǎngdehěnqīngchǔfēichángyǒu

In the Northern Song dynasty there was a painter named Wen Yuke who loved to paint bamboo. His bamboo looked so alive that people rushed to collect his paintings.

To paint bamboo well, Wen Yuke planted many bamboo trees in his courtyard. Whether it was the young shoots of spring, the deep green of summer, the yellow leaves of autumn, or the white snow of winter, he watched them day after day and kept every branch and leaf in his heart.

After a long time, the shape of bamboo lived completely inside his mind. The moment he picked up his brush and closed his eyes, a whole bamboo tree already stood inside him — he knew exactly which stalk to draw first and which to draw next.

His good friend Su Dongpo praised him, saying, “Before he paints, a complete bamboo is already formed in his chest.” That is where “having bamboo in one's chest” comes from.

Today the idiom describes someone who has thought a matter all the way through and acts with full confidence.