Grinding a Bar of Steel into a Needle 磨杵成针

The tendency with Chinese culture to emphasise hard work may be related to the legends and stories which have inspired people for generations. A well known story on Li Bai says a determined mind can grind a bar of steel into a needle, which obvious emphasises the strong determination to carry out a task. Li Bai, the famous poet lived during the Tang dynasty (618-907), is known to be a poetic genius. However, the famous story obviously points to the theory that Li Bai’s success was really due to his hard work and persistence in carrying out his learning tasks.

It is said that Li Bai was fond of playing when he was young, so he was always absent-minded in classes. One day he would catch little birds on the hill, and another day he would pick dates on the other hill.

One day, he saw an old lady sitting at the riverside when he was crossing the brook. The old lady was grinding an iron pestle without fear of tiredness. On seeing this, Li Bai laughed at her and said: “People who do this job are fools.”

The old lady answered kindly: “I am determined to grind the iron pestle into a needle even if the iron pestle is so thick and hard.” Li Bai took the iron pestle and felt tired after grinding it for a minute. Then he complained: “Oh, how long can I get it done? I quit.” The old lady shook her head and sighed: “The pestle can be grinded into a needle, as long as you keep working hard.”

The old lady’s words were so worthwhile, and Li Bai remembered them by heart. From then on, he spared no pains to study, and became a great poet finally.

The story comes from ‘Categorised Collection of Accurate Stories’ which was written in Ming dynasty by Chen Renxi (1581-1636).

‘Young Li Bai was not good in his studies. One day, he saw an old lady grinding a bar of steel and asked what she was doing. The old lady replied that she was making it into a needle. Li Bai was touched by what she said and from then on, he studied hard and graduated with good results.’

The Chinese phrase ‘grinding a bar of steel into a needle’ is now a famous proverb which is used to mean no matter how difficult or challenging a task is, it can be done as long as there is perseverance.

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华人文化强调用功读书，可能是受到不少传说与故事的鼓舞。一个出名的有关李白的故事叙述坚强的决心可以把一根铁棒磨成针，显然是强调做事需要的是决心。著名的唐朝（618-907）诗人李白诗个天才诗人。但是，这个有名的故事显然是指向这样的一个学说，就是李白的成功其实是由于他用功与对学习的坚持。

据说，李白小时候特别贪玩，一到上课就走神。今天这山捉小鸟，明天那山去摘枣。下了山过小河，河边坐着老婆婆。老婆婆不怕累，正磨一根铁棒锤。李白看了笑呵呵，说：‘傻子才干这种活呢！ ’

老婆婆慈祥地说：‘不怕铁棒粗又硬，我要磨成绣花针！ ” 李白拿过铁棒锤，没磨几下就喊累，说：“哎呦，什么时候能磨成啊？我不干了！’ 老婆婆摇摇头，叹息道：‘只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针！’

老婆婆的话值千金，李白牢牢记在心。从此读书不怕苦，成了一位大诗人。

这个故事出自明朝陈仁锡（1581-1636）的《潜确类书》卷六十：

‘李白少读书，未成，弃去。道逢老妪磨杵，白问其故。曰：‘欲作针。’白感其言，遂卒业。’

‘磨杵成针’就成为有名的成语，指的是不管事情是多么的困难，只要有毅力，一定会成功。