bǎi百hundredzhé折bendbù不notnáo挠yield
Unbent by a hundred setbacks — undaunted by repeated failure.
Literal meaning
hundred (百) — bend (折) — not (不) — yield (挠)
Origin
Originally a Han-dynasty eulogy for the upright official Qiao Xuan (桥玄): 有百折不挠之节 — "had the integrity to remain unbent through a hundred setbacks." Used since for any character that doesn't give in under repeated pressure.
Examples
Tā他bǎi百zhé折bù不náo挠，zhōng终yú于yán研fā发chū出le了xīn新chǎn产pǐn品。
Undaunted by repeated failure, he finally developed the new product.
Bǎi百zhé折bù不náo挠de的jīng精shén神zhí值dé得xué学xí习。
The undaunted spirit is worth emulating.
Usage & nuances
Strong praise. Implies setbacks PLURAL — fits long, repeatedly-failing projects rather than first-try success.
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