Effort & Endurance
螢雪之功
형설지공
yíng xuě zhī gōng
Hyeong-seol-ji-gong
螢
반딧불 형
雪
눈 설
之
갈 지
功
공 공
Character by character
Meaning
Merit earned reading by fireflies and snow-light — study achieved in hardship.
Origin
Che Yin of Jin gathered fireflies for light, and Sun Kang read by the glare off snow.
How it is used
Said of someone who completed their education in poverty.
Hanja螢雪之功
Simplified萤雪之功
Korean reading형설지공
Pinyinyíng xuě zhī gōng
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Hyeong-seol-ji-gong mean?
螢雪之功 · Merit earned reading by fireflies and snow-light — study achieved in hardship.
Q. Where does Hyeong-seol-ji-gong come from?
Che Yin of Jin gathered fireflies for light, and Sun Kang read by the glare off snow.
Q. How is Hyeong-seol-ji-gong used?
Said of someone who completed their education in poverty.
Idioms in the same group
愚公移山 U-gong-i-sanOld Man Yu moves the mountain — persistence accomplishes anything.磨斧作針 Ma-bu-jak-chimGrind an axe into a needle — dogged effort achieves even the impossible.切齒腐心 Jeol-chi-bu-simGrinding your teeth and letting your heart rot — nursing a grievance.臥薪嘗膽 Wa-sin-sang-damSleep on firewood and taste gall — endure any hardship to settle a score.百折不屈 Baek-jeol-bul-gulBroken a hundred times and still unbent.七顚八起 Chil-jeon-pal-giFall seven times, rise eight.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.