xué学learningfù富wealthwǔ五fivechē车carts
Learning enough to fill five carts of books.
Literal meaning
learning (学) — wealth (富) — five (五) — carts (车)
Origin
Zhuangzi (《庄子·天下》) praised the philosopher Hui Shi as having books that would fill five carts (惠施多方,其书五车). At a time when books were heavy bamboo strips, five cartloads meant a staggering personal library — and thus a staggering breadth of learning.
Examples
Tā他xué学fù富wǔ五chē车,xiě写qǐ起wén文zhāng章lái来yǐn引jīng经jù据diǎn典。
He's prodigiously learned — his essays quote classical sources throughout.
Tú图shū书guǎn馆de的lǎo老guǎn馆zhǎng长xué学fù富wǔ五chē车。
The old library director is a scholar of vast learning.
Usage & nuances
Literary, slightly archaic. Used to praise serious scholars or as a tongue-in-cheek compliment to someone with very specific deep knowledge.
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