不到长城非好汉

不到長城非好漢

búdàochángchéngfēihǎohàn

idiom

Meanings

1 one who fails to reach the Great Wall is no true hero — one must persevere and reach the goal to prove oneself
2 literally: not reaching the Great Wall, not a real man

Characters

Examples

都来北京了，不到长城非好汉，一定要去爬一爬。

Dōu lái Běijīng le, bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn, yídìng yào qù pá yi pá.

Since we're in Beijing, and 'no true hero unless you reach the Great Wall' — we absolutely have to go climb it.

项目再难也要做完，不到长城非好汉。

Xiàngmù zài nán yě yào zuò wán, bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn.

However hard the project, we must finish it — you're no hero until you reach the Great Wall.

Tips

history

From Mao Zedong's 1935 ci 《清平乐·六盘山》 (Qingpingyue — Liupan Mountain), written during the Long March. The couplet reads: 天高云淡，望断南飞雁。不到长城非好汉，屈指行程二万 — 'The sky is high and clouds thin; I gaze until the southbound geese vanish. One who fails to reach the Great Wall is no hero — I count the miles: twenty thousand li.' The phrase became a Chinese tourism tagline, especially at Badaling Great Wall.

usage

Originally a statement of revolutionary resolve, now most commonly heard as a tourist motto at the Great Wall. Also used figuratively for any 'you must complete the challenge' situation — marathons, tough projects, rites of passage.

Stroke Order

不 bù

到 dào

长 cháng

城 chéng

非 fēi

好 hǎo

汉 hàn