书山有路勤为径

書山有路勤為徑

shūshānyǒulùqínwéijìng

phrase

Meanings

1 on the mountain of books, diligence is the path
2 there is a road up the mountain of learning — hard work is that road
3 lit. book-mountain has a road — diligence is the path

Characters

to be, serve as

Examples

教室墙上写着书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟。

Jiàoshì qiáng shàng xiě zhe shū shān yǒu lù qín wéi jìng, xué hǎi wú yá kǔ zuò zhōu.

On the classroom wall is written: "on the mountain of books diligence is the path; on the sea of learning suffering is the boat".

他用书山有路勤为径来勉励学生。

Tā yòng shū shān yǒu lù qín wéi jìng lái miǎnlì xuéshēng.

He used "on the mountain of books, diligence is the path" to encourage his students.

Tips

history

Traditionally attributed to Han Yu (韩愈, Tang dynasty): 书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟 — 'The mountain of books has a road: diligence is its path. The sea of learning has no shore: suffering is its boat.' Whether truly by Han Yu is debated, but it has become the canonical Chinese school motto — a near-universal poster in classrooms and libraries.

usage

Always paired with its twin 学海无涯苦作舟 (next entry in this batch). 为 here = 'to be / serve as' (classical copula).

Stroke Order

书 shū

山 shān

有 yǒu

路 lù

勤 qín

为 wèi

径 jìng