凿壁偷光

Záo Bì Tōu Guāng

在墙上凿洞,借邻居的灯光读书。形容家境贫苦还刻苦学习的精神。

Chiseling a hole in the wall to borrow a neighbor's light — studying with every ounce of will, no matter how hard one's circumstances.

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In the Han dynasty there was a boy named Kuang Heng. His family was so poor they could not even buy oil for a lamp. But he loved to read, and every night, when the room went pitch dark, he could only sit there longing for light.

One day he noticed that the neighbors next door had their lamps burning brightly. He had an idea. Quietly, he chipped a small hole in the wall, just enough to let a thin beam of their light shine through. Night after night he read by that faint glow, deep into the hours.

With that kind of effort, Kuang Heng worked his way through book after book. His learning grew and grew. In time he became a famous scholar of the Han dynasty — and eventually even a prime minister.

The story of “chiseling the wall to borrow light” reminds us: no matter how hard the circumstances, a willing mind and hard work can still reach far.