"If you persevere, the rotten wood will not break; if you persevere, the metal and stone can be carved." It means: if you stop after a few carvings, then the rotten wood will continue to be carved. If you keep on carving, you can also carve gold and stone successfully.

The source of this sentence is: "Encouragement to Learning" by Xunzi in the Pre-Qin Dynasty

I have excerpted an original text containing this sentence for you to refer to:

When soil accumulates, mountains become the wind and rain; when water accumulates, the abyss becomes abyss, dragons emerge; when good deeds accumulate, virtue becomes, and the gods are satisfied with themselves, and the holy heart is prepared. Therefore, if you do not accumulate steps, you cannot reach a thousand miles; if you do not accumulate small streams, you cannot reach a river or sea. A horse can't take ten steps with one leap; a horse can ride ten times without giving up its merits. If you persevere, the rotten wood will not be broken; if you persevere, the metal and stone can be carved. Earthworms don't have sharp claws and teeth, nor strong muscles and bones. They eat earth and drink from the underworld. They have the same intention. A crab with six knees and two pincers is not a snake and eel that has nothing to rely on in its cave, so it means it is impatient. (Jianghai 1st work: Jianghe)

The translation into vernacular is as follows:

The accumulation of earth and rocks forms high mountains, from which wind and rain rise; the accumulation of water flows forms abyss, from which dragons emerge; Accumulating good deeds develops noble morals, the spirit is elevated, and the state of mind of a saint is acquired. Therefore, without accumulating one and a half steps, there is no way to reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small flows, there is no way to form rivers and seas. A good horse takes less than ten steps in one leap; a bad horse can walk for ten days in a row, but its success lies in not stopping. If you stop after a few carvings, then the rotten wood will continue to carve. If you keep on carving, you can also carve gold and stone successfully. The earthworm does not have sharp claws or teeth, but it has strong muscles and bones, but it can eat up to the soil and drink down to the underground spring water. This is because it is single-minded. The crab has six legs and two claws, but it has nowhere to hide without the caves of snakes and eels. This is because it is impetuous.

It may be difficult to understand its meaning just by reading the article, so it is easier to understand if we interpret it based on the context of its creation:

The important representative figure of Confucianism during the Warring States Period was Mencius and Xunzi. Mencius advocated the idea that "those who work hard govern others, and those who work hard govern others" to defend the ruling class, but Xunzi believed that human power can conquer nature, and nature should be used to serve mankind. His disciples Han Fei and Li Si became important representatives of Legalism in the late Warring States Period.

Now that we have said this, let us appreciate and analyze this "Encouraging Learning":

"Encouraging Learning" is the opening chapter of "Xunzi". An essay that discusses the importance of learning and advises people to learn with the correct purpose, attitude and method. The article is based on simple materialism as the theoretical basis, quotes from a wide range of sources, and provides eloquent reasoning. It reflects some of the correct views of pre-Qin Confucianism on education, and also embodies the artistic style of Xunzi's articles as the culmination of the thoughts of pre-Qin philosophers.

"Encouraging Learning" is a text that talks about strong rationality. If it is not controlled well, it can easily become boring and monotonous. However, this article has a fresh and popular image, and has been read by people for thousands of years. Why? The most important thing is that it embodies profound truths in a large number of simple and appropriate metaphors. When using metaphors, it is extremely flexible and natural, vivid and vivid without being boring and pedantic. For example, at the beginning of the article, four metaphors are used in succession: "Green, taken from blue, and green from blue", "Ice, water for it, but cold from water", "Wood will be straight when roped", "Metal will be sharpened and benefited". From different angles and aspects, he expounded the principle of "learning cannot be done". He was a eloquent and eloquent person, and had a strong effect of taking the lead. It is worth pointing out that almost all of the metaphors used in the article are common and easy to understand. These popular and clear metaphors, which seem to be picked up at hand, will naturally make people think of some intuitive and simple images, and then even the analogies, Inspire your thinking and accept the profound truth stated by the author.

From a formal point of view, the metaphors in "Encouraging Learning" are clever, diverse and can be used freely. To elaborate on viewpoints and demonstrate principles, some use metaphors from the front ("When soil accumulates to form a mountain, wind and rain flourish; when accumulation of water forms a abyss, dragons emerge; when accumulation of good deeds becomes virtue, the gods are content with themselves, and the holy heart is prepared"), and some use metaphors from the negative side. Use metaphors ("If you don't accumulate steps, you won't be able to reach a thousand miles; if you don't accumulate small streams, you won't be able to become a river"); some metaphors are used individually, and some are continuous metaphors; some of the same kind are juxtaposed, and some are direct and negative contrasts; some are just metaphors. Metaphors are used to imply the truth. Some metaphors are first used and then the truth is introduced. In short, everything is covered with brocade and embroidery. Therefore, although there are many metaphors in the article, it does not feel rigid and rigid. On the contrary, with the continuous transformation and full development of the metaphors, neat and varied sentence patterns are formed, making the article appear well-organized and vibrant.

Another characteristic of the writing of "Encouraging Learning" is the extensive use of short sentence parallelism and positive and negative contrasts. The article begins with a set of parallelisms: "Green is taken from blue, and green is from blue; ice is from water, and is colder than water." There are many such parallelisms in the article, and they are full of argumentative color. It is also full of literary charm, and even has a sense of musical rhythm flowing in it. Similarly, "Encouraging Learning" is also very distinctive in its use of contrasting techniques. For example, when explaining the principle that learning should be good at accumulation, the author successively compared "Qiji" and "horse", "rotten wood" and "gold and stone", explaining that "the strength of a horse and ten horses lies in perseverance" and "perseverance in giving up". , Rotten wood will not break; if you persevere, gold and stone can be carved." This fully shows the great significance of "perseverance" to learning.

When explaining the principle of concentration in study, the author also compared "earthworms" and "crabs". The former "does not have the power of claws and teeth, but the strength of muscles and bones", but can "eat the earth and drink from the underworld", although the latter There are "six kneelings and two pincers", but "there is nothing to rely on except the cave of a snake." What's the point? The reason is that the former "uses one intention", while the latter "uses impatience". The sharp contrast and strong contrast enhance the weight of the reasoning.

Finally, I think it is necessary to introduce the author of this article:

Xunzi (about 313 BC - 238 BC), named Kuang, courtesy name Qing (It is said that people at that time respected each other and were called Qing). He was a native of the Zhao state at the end of the Warring States Period. In the Han Dynasty, he was abbreviated as "Sun Qing" because he avoided asking Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty to ask for his name. He was a thinker, philosopher, educator, representative of the Confucian school, and a leader of a hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin era. The master of all things. Xunzi served as the sacrificial wine minister of Jixia Academy of Qi three times, and served as the mausoleum of Chulan twice. In his later years, he lived in seclusion in Lanling County, wrote books, taught disciples, and stayed there until his death. He was called the "Later Sage". Xunzi critically accepted and creatively developed the orthodox thoughts and theories of Confucianism, advocating "the simultaneous application of etiquette and law"; proposing the idea that man can conquer nature by "controlling the destiny of heaven and using it"; opposing superstition of ghosts and gods; proposing the theory of evil nature and attaching importance to customs and education. The influence of people and the emphasis on application of knowledge; thoughts are reflected in the book "Xunzi". Xunzi summarized the theoretical results of the Contest of a Hundred Schools of Thought and his own academic thoughts, and created a complete philosophical system of simple materialism in the pre-Qin period. His thoughts exerted a subtle influence on the development of feudal society for more than two thousand years.