záo凿borebì壁walltōu偷stealguāng光light
Boring a hole in the wall to steal lamplight — studying despite poverty.
Literal meaning
bore (凿) — wall (壁) — steal (偷) — light (光)
Origin
A Western Han story about the scholar Kuang Heng (匡衡), who was so poor as a child that he had no oil for a lamp. To study at night, he bored a hole through the wall of his hut to borrow lamplight from his neighbour. He grew up to become a high official.
Examples
Tā他chū出shēn身pín贫hán寒，záo凿bì壁tōu偷guāng光de地dú读shū书，zuì最zhōng终kǎo考shàng上le了dà大xué学。
He came from poverty, studied under any condition he could find, and finally got into university.
Záo凿bì壁tōu偷guāng光de的jīng精shén神zhí值dé得xué学xí习。
The bore-the-wall, steal-the-light spirit is worth emulating.
Usage & nuances
Story tone. Used as a metaphor for studying under hard conditions; works for any against-the-odds learning effort.
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