Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone (Little Strokes Fell Great Oaks)

Characters:

Pronunciation: Shui(3) Di(1) Shi(2) Chuan(1)

Explanation: Meaning that even an infinitesimal force can accomplish a seemingly impossible feat with persistence.

The Story: Zhang Guaiya was the magistrate of Chongyang. One day, he was walking around the government building for an inspection. Suddenly, he saw a junior keeper slipping out of the coffers building in a flurry with a copper coin hidden under his turban.

Zhang Guaiya asked him what was happening. The keeper could not get away with a vague answer and admitted that he had stolen the coin from the coffers. So Zhang Guaiya had the keeper taken to the courtroom and beaten. Pleading not guilty, the keeper cried out: "What does a copper coin amount to? Now you are beating me. Dare you kill me?" Angered by his defiance, Zhang Guaiya promptly picked up a red-inked writing brush and wrote: "A copper a day makes a thousand coppers in a thousand days. A hemp rope can saw up wood and drips of water can penetrate a rock." Throwing down the writing brush, he drew his sword and killed the keeper with his own hands.

Usage Example (Pinyin): dai(4) zhe(2) shui(3) di(1) shi(2) chuan(1) de jue(2) xin(1), nan(2) hai(2) zai(4) jia(1) li(3) wan(2) cheng(2) le xue(2) wei(4)

Usage Example (English translation): With a 'Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone' determination, the boy accomplished his bachelor's degree at home.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.