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成如容易却艰辛

成如容易卻艱辛
chéngrúróngyìquèjiānxīn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 what looks effortless was achieved with great hardship
  2. 2 mastery seems easy but is earned through struggle
  3. 3 (lit.) achieving (it) seems easy yet is toilsome

Examples

看他表演信手拈来，其实成如容易却艰辛。
Kàn tā biǎoyǎn xìnshǒu niānlái, qíshí chéng rú róngyì què jiānxīn.
His performance looks effortless, but achieving it took enormous effort.
大师作品成如容易却艰辛，背后是几十年的功夫。
Dàshī zuòpǐn chéng rú róngyì què jiānxīn, bèihòu shì jǐshí nián de gōngfu.
A master's work looks easy — but behind it lie decades of effort.

Tips

history
From Wang Anshi's (王安石, Northern Song) 《题张司业诗》, praising the plain style of Zhang Ji (张籍): 看似寻常最奇崛，成如容易却艰辛。(It looks ordinary, but is the strangest and steepest; achieving it looks easy, yet is full of hardship.) A canonical line on the hidden labor behind apparent simplicity — often cited in discussions of art, craft, and writing.
usage
Paired with the preceding 看似寻常最奇崛. Useful for art criticism, sports commentary, or any context praising mastery that conceals effort.

Stroke Order

成 chéng
如 rú
容 róng
易 yì
却 què
艰 jiān
辛 xīn