愚公移山

• Pinyin: yú gōng yí shān
• Hanzi breakdown: 愚 = 禺 + 心 (monkey + heart — foolish); 公 = 八 + 厶 (divide + private — what is made public, an elder); 移 = 禾 + 多 (grain + many — to shift/move); 山 = mountain (pictograph)

Meaning

The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains. A classical idiom describing perseverance and the power of determined, persistent effort to overcome apparently insurmountable obstacles.

From the Liezi, this story of an old man who resolves to move two mountains blocking his home — despite mockery — became a canonical metaphor for collective perseverance and faith that sustained effort can overcome any obstacle. Mao Zedong famously used it in a 1945 speech to exhort the Chinese people to work tirelessly to overcome difficulties, making it one of the most politically resonant idioms in modern China.

Examples

1. 这支志愿队以愚公移山的精神，用七年时间在荒漠化黄土高坡上修出三千亩梯田，为恢复农业打下基础。 With the spirit of Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountains, this volunteer team spent seven years building 3,000 mu of terraced fields on a desertified loess plateau, laying the foundation for restoring agriculture.
2. 毛泽东在1945年七大闭幕词中借愚公移山作喻，号召全党带领群众搬开帝国主义和封建主义这两座大山。 In his 1945 closing speech at the Seventh National Congress, Mao Zedong used Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountains as a metaphor and called on the whole Party to lead the masses in removing imperialism and feudalism, the two great mountains.
3. 那位山区教师义务支教二十三年，以愚公移山的执着把一所破旧村小办成了当地最好的学校之一。 That mountain teacher volunteered to teach for 23 years and, with the persistence of Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountains, turned a shabby village school into one of the best in the area.

Usage Guide

Context: inspiration, perseverance, politics, education, literature

Tone: inspirational

Do Say

• 我们推进改革会遇到阻力，但只要以愚公移山的耐心坚持下去，制度障碍终会被逐步瓦解。(Our reform will face resistance, but as long as we persist with the patience of Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountains, institutional barriers will eventually be dismantled step by step.)
• 几代中国航天人以愚公移山的精神，在技术封锁、经费短缺和基础薄弱中积累数十年，终于建成完整的航天工业体系。(For decades, generations of Chinese aerospace workers, with the spirit of Foolish Old Man Moving the Mountains, accumulated experience amid technological blockade, funding shortages, and a weak foundation, and finally built a complete aerospace industry system.)

Don't Say

• 他愚公移山地学英语 — the idiom describes overcoming massive structural obstacles through collective perseverance, not mere individual diligence; for straightforward hard work use 孜孜不倦 (diligently and tirelessly), 坚持不懈 (perseveringly), or 刻苦钻研 (study hard and in depth)

Origin & History

Based on the classical fable from the Liezi (列子·汤问篇): 愚公 (Foolish Old Man — 愚 foolish + 公 old man/honorific) + 移 (to move/shift — 禾 grain + 多 many; shifting grain, hence moving) + 山 (mountain — pictograph of three peaks). The story is a philosophical parable about persistence overcoming impossibility.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal