脊梁

• Pinyin: jǐ liáng
• Hanzi breakdown: 脊 = 月 + ridge component (spinal column); 梁 = 木 + 刃 + 水 (wooden beam — structural support)

Meaning

Spine; backbone. Literal: the vertebral column. Figurative: the backbone or pillar of a nation, group, or cause.

The figurative use is pervasive in Chinese political and literary language. Calling someone 'the backbone of the nation' (民族的脊梁) is a high compliment. Rooted in Confucian ideals of upright character.

Examples

1. 那些默默奉献的劳动者是这个国家真正的脊梁。 Those workers who quietly dedicate themselves are the true backbone of this country.
2. 他挺直脊梁，坚定地走进了审讯室。 He straightened his back and walked firmly into the interrogation room.
3. 科学家是推动社会进步的脊梁力量。 Scientists are a backbone force driving social progress.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, rhetoric, literature, patriotism

Tone: elevated

Do Say

• 鲁迅笔下那些为民族独立与思想解放而不懈奋斗的知识分子，被誉为支撑近代中国的精神脊梁。(The intellectuals in Lu Xun's writings who strove tirelessly for national independence and intellectual emancipation are acclaimed as the spiritual backbone sustaining modern China.)
• 基层工作者和乡村教师等群体虽鲜少进入公众视野，却始终是中国社会结构中不可或缺的脊梁支柱。(Groups such as grassroots workers and rural teachers, though rarely entering the public eye, have always been the indispensable backbone pillars of China's social structure.)

Don't Say

• 脊梁骨 is the anatomical colloquial term; in formal writing use 脊椎 for the medical sense and 脊梁 for the figurative sense

Origin & History

脊 (spine/ridge) + 梁 (beam/ridge — structural support)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal