Famous aphorisms about diligent study and improvement:

1. If jade is not carved, it will not become a tool; if wood is not carved, it will not become useful; if a person does not learn, he will not understand.

2. Live till you are old and learn till you are old. Eighty years is still not too little.

3. The stupid bird flies first and enters the forest early, and the hard work pays off.

4. Practice makes perfect, and skill makes essence.

5. The period of hard work does not stop, but more gains come from hard work. ——Ouyang Xiu

6. Diligent people can forget about food and sleep, but lazy people always have no time. 7. Learning is achieved through hardship, and art is practiced through diligence.

8. Bees pluck hundreds of flowers to make sweet wine, and people read books to understand the truth.

9. Diligence is the mother of good luck.

10. The harder you work, the luckier you will be.

11. Wei’s three masterpieces are the hanging beams that pierce the bones, the walls that are chiselled to steal the light, the fireflies in the bags that reflect the snow, the people who lie down on firewood to taste their gallbladder, and the logs that serve as pillows. 12. No matter how hard you work, you will gain a lot; to harvest well, you must cultivate well. ——Xu Teli 13. Genius comes from hard work.

14. As long as you can harvest sweetness, there will also be busy bees among the thorn bushes. 15. Being eager to learn but not diligent in asking questions is not a truly good scholar.

16. A diligent person is the master of time, and a lazy person is a slave of time.