一字之师

一字之師
yízìzhīshī
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 a one-character master
  2. 2 someone who improves your writing by changing a single character

Examples

HSK 6
Gǔrén zūnzhòng yízìzhīshī, qiānxū qiújiào.
The ancients respected the one-character master and humbly sought instruction.
HSK 7-9
Tā gǎi le wǒ wénzhāng de yígè zì, zhēnshì wǒ de yízìzhīshī.
He changed one character in my essay - he really is my one-character master.

Tips

history
From 宋 计有功 《唐诗纪事》: the Tang monk-poet 齐己 wrote a poem 《早梅》 with the line '前村深雪里,数枝开' ('several branches in bloom'). 郑谷 suggested changing 数枝 ('several branches') to 一枝 ('a single branch') to fit 'early plum.' 齐己 bowed in thanks, and 郑 was honored as his 一字师 - one-character master.

Stroke Order

一 yī
字 zì
之 zhī
师 shī