The young pine resents it is not yet a thousand feet; the vicious bamboo ought to be cut down by the ten thousand.
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history
From Du Fu's (杜甫, Tang dynasty) 《将赴成都草堂途中有作，先寄严郑公五首》其四: 新松恨不高千尺，恶竹应须斩万竿 — 'The young pine resents it is not yet a thousand feet tall; the vicious bamboo ought to be cut down by the ten thousand.' The pine stands for worthy talent deserving quick growth; the bamboo, for rank weeds of corruption.
usage
Almost always quoted together with 恶竹应须斩万竿 — the paired wish: promote the worthy fast, cut down the corrupt en masse. 恨 here means 'to regret / resent' (not 'hate'), a classical usage.
