All poems

战国战国 · 文 Prose

劝学·锲而不舍

Exhortation to Learning: Carve Without Stopping

荀子

Xunzi

名篇Famous Work 劝学Exhortation to Learning 比喻Metaphor

锲而舍之，朽木不折；
锲而不舍，金石可镂。
蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强，上食埃土，下饮黄泉，用心一也。

Carve but then abandon it, and even rotten wood will not be split; carve without ceasing, and metal and stone can be engraved.
The earthworm has no sharp claws and fangs, no strong sinews and bones, yet above it eats the dust of earth, below it drinks the yellow spring—this is because its mind is applied to one thing.

Listen

Meaning

This passage urges relentless perseverance and single-minded concentration in learning. Using the image of carving and the example of the lowly earthworm, Xunzi argues that success depends not on innate gifts but on sustained, focused effort.

雕刻一下就放弃，腐朽的木头也刻不断；不停地雕刻，金属和石头也能刻穿。蚯蚓没有锋利的爪牙、强健的筋骨，却能上吃泥土，下饮地下泉水，这是因为用心专一。

Appreciation

[Plain Paraphrase] The famous lines "Carve but then abandon it, and rotten wood will not be split; carve without ceasing, and metal and stone can be engraved" contrast giving up with pressing on: the quitter cannot even cut rotten wood, while the persevering can pierce metal and stone. The earthworm, though lacking claws, teeth, sinews, and bones, eats soil above and drinks the yellow spring below—solely because its mind is fixed on one thing. [Structure] The passage moves from a positive-negative antithesis (stopping vs. not stopping) to a concrete exemplum (the earthworm), sealing the argument with a one-word verdict: "one." [Imagery] The paired opposites—rotten wood vs. metal and stone, abandoning vs. persisting—make the power of constancy vivid in a few strokes. The earthworm, the weakest of creatures, proves the strongest truth: weak means can achieve much through concentration. Xunzi's "carve without stopping" has become a household idiom for perseverance.

【白话串讲】荀子写《劝学·锲而不舍》：“锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂”——半途而废连朽木都刻不断，坚持到底金石也能刻穿。“蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强，上食埃土，下饮黄泉，用心一也”——蚯蚓没有爪牙，却能上食埃土、下饮黄泉——专心致志。【意象与手法】《劝学》比喻论证的经典段落：先以「锲而舍之／锲而不舍」的正反对比立论，再以蚯蚓「无爪牙之利」而「用心一也」的例证收束，比喻精当、对比有力、例证典型；「朽木」与「金石」、「舍之」与「不舍」两两对照，寥寥数语而道理自明。【情感与主旨】劝人持之以恒、用心专一：荀子主「性恶」，认为人必须通过后天积学才能成德，故反复以「积」「不舍」「一」立论——坚持与专一是学习成功的唯一途径，也是「积善成德」的必由之路。【名句点睛】常考「锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂」的比喻与对比——以「朽木／金石」的悬殊材质写坚持的力量，是《劝学》中最著名的警句，也是「锲而不舍」成语的出处。

Background

The "Exhortation to Learning" is the opening essay of the Xunzi and a foundational text of pre-Qin Confucian educational thought. Xunzi (c. 313–238 BCE), named Kuang, styled Qing, was a native of Zhao (or Wei) in the late Warring States, honored as "Master Xun," who late in life lived at Lanling in Chu; his disciples included Han Fei and Li Si. Against the age's contending schools he synthesized Confucianism and advanced his doctrine of "original evil": human nature is selfish, and only through后天 (post-natal) study, teaching, and accumulated good can one transform character and attain virtue. Hence the essay opens with "learning must not cease." Unlike Mencius's doctrine of original good, Xunzi stressed后天 effort, so the whole work repeatedly stresses accumulation, gradualism, not giving up, and oneness.

《劝学》是《荀子》第一篇，也是先秦儒家教育思想的纲领性文献。荀子（约前313—前238），名况，字卿，战国末期赵国（一说卫国）人，时人尊称「荀卿」，晚年居楚国兰陵著书立说，韩非、李斯皆出其门。战国末期，诸侯争霸渐趋一统，思想界百家争鸣，荀子批判各家而总汇儒家，提出「性恶论」：他认为人性本恶，好利恶害，唯有通过后天的学习、教化与积善，才能变化气质、成就德行，故《劝学》开篇即言「学不可以已」。与孟子的「性善论」相比，荀子更重后天的努力，因此《劝学》全篇反复强调「积」「渐」「不舍」「一」：积土成山、积水成渊、积善成德，锲而不舍、金石可镂，用心专一、无不如意。此节选取「锲而不舍」与「用心一也」两小节，是《劝学》中最脍炙人口的段落：前以雕刻设喻，一正一反写坚持与放弃的霄壤之别；后以蚯蚓为例，写专一可以弥补条件之不足，把「学贵有恒、学贵专一」的道理说得既生动又深刻。就时代背景而言，此文的「积学」思想与战国末期「由分到合」的历史趋势相应：个体唯有不断积累，方能成器成德，亦是国家由乱趋治的人才根基。

Art

The passage's art lies in three strengths: apt metaphor, sharp contrast, and典型 exemplum. First, the metaphor is apt: "carve but then abandon / carve without ceasing" uses the common labor of engraving—everyone understands it. "Rotten wood" and "metal and stone" differ vastly in hardness, yet what decides success is not the material but stopping vs. not stopping; the word "carve" runs through both clauses, making the force of constancy strike the heart. Second, the contrast is sharp: "abandon / not abandon" and "rotten wood / metal and stone" face each other, one failure one success, parallel and clear—the quitter cannot cut rotten wood, the persevering can pierce stone; then the earthworm (no sharp claws yet eats soil) sets "lack" against "can," deepening the power of "one." Third, the exemplum is典型: the earthworm is the weakest, humblest creature, yet proves the firmest truth—persuasion doubled. Metaphor, contrast, and example lock together, revealing Xunzi's "vigorous argument."

此节选的艺术特色，在比喻的精当、对比的鲜明与例证的典型三端。其一，比喻精当：「锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂」以雕刻设喻——雕刻是最常见的劳作，人人可解；「朽木」与「金石」材质悬殊，一个一折即断、一个坚不可摧，而决定成败的竟不是材质而是「舍」与「不舍」，「锲」之一字，贯穿始终，把「恒」的力量写得震人心魄。其二，对比鲜明：此段以「舍之／不舍」相对，以「朽木／金石」相映，一正一反、一败一成，对仗工整而理路分明——放弃者连朽木也刻不断，坚持者连金石也能镂穿，两相对照，取舍自明；后文蚯蚓之例（无爪牙之利而能上食埃土）又以「无」与「能」相对，写条件的欠缺与成就的卓异，进一步深化「一」的力量。其三，例证典型：以蚯蚓为例极见匠心——蚯蚓本是最柔弱微贱之物，无爪牙、无筋骨，却能上食埃土、下饮黄泉，其成功全在「用心一也」，以最弱之物证最坚之理，说服力倍增（下文又以「六跪而二螯」的螃蟹作反衬，虽有利器而用心躁，故寄托无所，一正一反，叹为观止）。要之，比喻、对比、例证三者环环相扣，荀子说理之「雄辩」，于此可见一斑。

Allusions

The passage carries the traditional Chinese ideals of constancy (heng) and oneness (yi) within the exhortation-to-learn tradition. First, "carve without stopping"—from this passage—is now a common idiom for perseverance; its thought traces back to the Shang shu ("nine ren of a mountain, spoiled by one basket") and the Lun yu ("like building a mountain, one basket short—I stop"), which Confucius used for constancy in virtue; Xunzi intensified it with the hyperbole "metal and stone can be engraved," making it a timeless warning. Second, "its mind is applied to one thing"—"one" is a core category of Chinese philosophy: Laozi's "embracing the one," Confucius's "my way is unified by one thread," Mencius's "single-minded devotion"; Xunzi applies "one" to learning, and later sayings like "water dripping through stone" share its spirit. The earthworm's "one" contrasts with the crab's "restless" mind below—one vs. restless marks the divide of success and failure. Third, "above eats soil, below drinks the yellow spring" uses "yellow spring" (underground water, also the realm of the dead) to stress the worm's wide range, hinting that the focused, though ordinary, can reach both high and low. Xunzi's essay bridges Confucius's "learn and review" and Han Yu's "On Teachers," a pivotal document of Chinese educational thought.

此节选所承载的文化内涵，集中在中国传统「恒」「一」观念与劝学传统之中。其一，「锲而不舍」——此语出自本节，今已成为汉语常用成语，形容坚持不懈，其思想可上溯至《尚书》「为山九仞，功亏一篑」、《论语》「譬如为山，未成一篑，止，吾止也」（孔子以积土成山喻进德修业之恒心），荀子承之而更以「金石可镂」的夸张写其效，遂成千古警句。其二，「用心一也」——「一」是中国哲学的核心范畴：老子言「抱一」，孔子言「吾道一以贯之」，孟子言「专心致志」，荀子以「一」论学，谓专一则无不如意，后世「水滴石穿」「绳锯木断」之说皆与此精神相通；蚓之「用心一也」与下文蟹之「用心躁也」对举，一「一」一「躁」，专一与浮躁之别，正是成败的分水岭。其三，「上食埃土，下饮黄泉」——黄泉指地下的泉水，亦为幽冥之代称，此处以「上」「下」极言蚯蚓活动范围之广，写其虽微贱而能兼得天地之养，暗喻专一者虽禀赋平常亦可上达下究、无所不通。其四，就劝学传统而言，荀子此篇上承孔子「学而时习之」、下启韩愈《师说》「人非生而知之者」，是中国教育思想的枢纽文献，「锲而不舍」由此成为中华民族自强不息精神的经典表达。

Commentary

"Exhortation to Learning" is a foundational work of Chinese educational thought, and "carve without stopping" and "its mind is applied to one thing" are its most widely known, deepest passages. In intellectual history, "carve without stopping, metal and stone can be engraved" pushes the power of constancy to its limit—material hardness cannot match the will to persist; this is not only a way of learning but a way of life, in one line with the national spirit of "Yugong moving mountains" and "Jingwei filling the sea," a classic footnote to the Chinese ethic of self-strengthening. "Its mind is applied to one thing" established the discipline of concentration, influencing scholarly styles for generations. In literary history, the essay marks the maturity of pre-Qin argumentative prose: dense metaphor (blue from indigo, ice colder than water, ascending for wide view, piling earth into a mountain, the slow horse's ten drives, carving without stopping, the worm and crab), layered structure, and a mixed regular-loose rhythm set the model for later argumentative prose from Jia Yi's "On Qin" to Han Yu's "On Teachers." In education, the essay entered the Confucian canon from the Han and has been required reading for two millennia; this passage still appears in middle-school textbooks as a model of metaphorical argument. The four characters "carve without stopping" have transcended the text to become a spiritual force urging Chinese people to persevere.

《劝学》是中国教育思想的奠基之作，此节选的「锲而不舍」「用心一也」更是其中流传最广、影响最深的两段。就思想史而言，「锲而不舍，金石可镂」把「恒」的力量推到极致——材质之坚不敌坚持之志，这不仅是学习之道，更是人生之道，与「愚公移山」「精卫填海」的民族精神一脉相承，成为中华文化中「自强不息」品格的经典注脚；「用心一也」则确立了「专一」的修养法门，影响此后历代学风。就文学史而言，《劝学》是先秦议论文成熟的标志：比喻的密集运用（青出于蓝、冰寒于水、登高博见、积土成山、驽马十驾、锲而不舍、蚓蟹之喻），层层推进的论证结构，骈散相间的语言节奏，皆为后世说理文（从贾谊《过秦论》到韩愈《师说》）树立了范式；此节选更以对偶精警、比喻贴切而成为千古传诵的段落。就教育史而言，《劝学》自汉代列入经学系统，历代列为必读，其「学不可以已」「锲而不舍」的思想滋养了两千年的读书人；此节选至今入选中学语文教材，是学生接触先秦议论文、学习比喻论证与正反对比的经典范文。「锲而不舍」四字，也已超越文本，成为激励一代代中国人持之以恒、专一不怠的精神力量。要之，荀子以雕刻与蚯蚓的小小比喻，说出了人类成就事业的最朴素真理，其影响历两千余年而不衰。

Prosody

Form Pre-Qin argumentative prose (discursive essay)先秦议论文（论说体散文）

Rhyme Prose with no rhyme, but rhythm built from antithesis and parallelism: 'Carve but then abandon it, rotten wood will not be split; carve without ceasing, metal and stone can be engraved' is a tight parallel couplet with ringing cadence; 'above eats soil, below drinks the yellow spring' is a four-character antithesis, crisp and clear; 'no sharp claws of fang, no strong sinews of bone' uses post-posed attributes for archaic elegance.散文不押韵，而以对偶与排比构成节奏：「锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂」两句工对，音节铿锵；「上食埃土，下饮黄泉」四字对偶，斩截明快；「无爪牙之利，筋骨之强」定语后置，句式古雅。

Tone pattern Mostly four-character lines with occasional longer ones: 'carve but then abandon / carve without ceasing' uses 'er' to modulate—one abandons, one persists, a pause then a turn; 'the worm has no sharp claws, no strong sinews' first lowers then raises, 'above eats soil, below drinks the spring' spreads in parallel, and 'its mind is applied to one thing' ends with a four-character verdict—tone moves from relaxed to decisive, upright and confident.句式以四字句为主，间以长句：「锲而舍之／锲而不舍」以「而」字调度，一舍一不舍，语气一顿一转；「蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强」先抑后扬，「上食埃土，下饮黄泉」对举铺开，「用心一也」四字断言收束，语气由舒缓转斩截，理直气壮。

Reading note The musical beauty of this passage lies in its careful antithetical patterning. Pre-Qin argumentative prose does not rhyme; its musicality comes wholly from regular syntax and functional particles. The opening sixteen characters pair perfectly—'carve but then abandon' against 'carve without ceasing,' 'rotten wood not split' against 'metal and stone engraved,' with 'rotten wood' and 'metal and stone,' 'not split' and 'can be engraved' echoing; reading it is like striking two jade discs, sonorous and clear. The word 'er' stays in the same position yet reverses meaning—one 'abandon,' one 'not'—so the turn of tone is felt in the sound itself, first lowering (rotten wood) then raising (stone). The latter 'the worm has no sharp claws, no strong sinews' uses 'zhi' for post-posed attributes, archaic and slow, suiting the worm's weakness; 'above eats soil, below drinks the spring' is a four-character antithesis, brisk, showing its achievement; the final 'its mind is applied to one thing' stops short, like the last heavy note of a movement. The whole moves from parallel opening to verdict close—a model of pre-Qin prose's art of 'antithesis for backbone, verdict for force.'此节选的音律之美，在其对偶句式的精心调度。先秦议论文本不押韵，其音乐性全凭句式的整饬与虚词的运用：开篇「锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂」十六字，两两相对——「锲而舍之」对「锲而不舍」，「朽木不折」对「金石可镂」，且「朽木」与「金石」、「不折」与「可镂」又两两呼应，读来如双璧相击、音节铿锵；「而」字在两句中的位置不变而意思相反，一「舍」一「不舍」，语气的转折在声律上亦清晰可感，先抑（朽木不折）后扬（金石可镂），声情随之起伏。后半「蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强」以「之」字构成定语后置，句式古雅舒徐，写蚯蚓之弱，声情亦缓；「上食埃土，下饮黄泉」四字对偶，一上一下、一食一饮，节奏明快，写其成就之著；末句「用心一也」四字短促收束，「一也」断言，如乐章的最后一个重音，戛然而止而余音不绝。全段由对偶起、以断言收，节奏张弛有度，声情与文理相合：对偶处理路分明，断言处理直气壮。诵读此段，可体会先秦议论文「以偶句立骨、以断言收势」的声律艺术，是学习文言节奏美的绝佳材料。

Line by line

锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。

Carve but then abandon it, and rotten wood will not be split; carve without ceasing, and metal and stone can be engraved.

雕刻一下就放弃，腐朽的木头也刻不断；不停地雕刻，金属和石头也能刻穿。

If you chip at it and then give up, rotten wood will not break; if you chip at it without ceasing, metal and stone can be carved through.

此句是《劝学》最著名的警句，以雕刻设喻，一正一反写坚持与放弃的霄壤之别。「锲而舍之，朽木不折」——「锲」写雕刻之始，「舍之」写中途放弃，放弃者连腐朽的木头都刻不断，以「朽木」之易断反衬「舍」之可悲；「锲而不舍，金石可镂」——「不舍」写持之以恒，坚持者连金属、石头都能镂穿，以「金石」之至坚反衬「恒」之至力。两句对仗工整：「锲而舍之／锲而不舍」同头异尾，一个「而」字位置不变而意思全反；「朽木不折／金石可镂」材质由软及硬、结果由败及成，层层对照。「朽木」与「金石」的并置尤为精妙——材质之悬殊竟不敌坚持与否之别，说明决定成败的不是天资条件，而是恒心毅力，这对一切自恃聪明或自惭驽钝者都是当头棒喝。就修辞而言，此句以对比立论、以夸张收束（「金石可镂」），理直而辞壮，是先秦议论文「比喻论证」的巅峰一笔，也是成语「锲而不舍」的出处，千载之下仍振聋发聩。

This line is 'Encouraging Learning's' most famous maxim, using carving for metaphor, one positive one negative writing the sky-and-earth difference between persistence and giving up. 'If you carve and then stop, even a rotten stick will not break' - 'carve' the start, 'then stop' the mid-way abandonment, the one who gives up cannot break even rotten wood, the 'rotten wood's' easy breaking set off against the grief of 'giving up'; 'if you carve and never stop, even metal and stone can be engraved' - 'never stop' the constancy, the one who persists can engrave through metal and stone, the 'metal and stone's' utmost hardness set off against the 'constancy's' utmost force. The two lines neatly paired: 'carve and then stop / carve and never stop' same head, different tail, the word 'yet' in place yet the meaning wholly reversed; 'rotten stick will not break / metal and stone can be engraved' the material from soft to hard, the result from failure to success, layer on layer of contrast. The 'rotten wood' and 'metal and stone' set side by side especially fine - the material's vast difference no match for the difference of persistence, showing that what decides success is not native endowment, but constancy; a knock on the head for all who trust in cleverness or blush at dullness. In rhetoric, the line argues by contrast and closes in hyperbole ('metal and stone can be engraved'), the reason straight, the words grand, the peak of pre-Qin prose's 'argument by metaphor,' and the source of the idiom 'carving without ceasing,' still ringing down the ages.

蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强，上食埃土，下饮黄泉，用心一也。

The earthworm has no sharp claws and fangs, no strong sinews and bones, yet above it eats the dust of earth, below it drinks the yellow spring—this is because its mind is applied to one thing.

蚯蚓没有锋利的爪牙、强健的筋骨，却能上吃泥土，下饮地下泉水，这是因为用心专一。

The earthworm has no sharp claws or teeth, no tough sinews or bones, yet above it feeds on the dust, below it drinks the underground springs - because its will is wholly single.

此句以蚯蚓为例，论证「用心一也」的力量，是「锲而不舍」命题的深化与具象化。「蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强」——「无」字当头，先写蚯蚓条件之薄弱：「爪牙之利」「筋骨之强」皆为定语后置（即「利之爪牙」「强之筋骨」），句式古雅而有力，点明蚯蚓一无锋利的爪牙、二无强健的筋骨，是自然界最柔弱微贱之物；「上食埃土，下饮黄泉」——「上」「下」对举，写其活动范围之广：上可食土，下可饮泉，以天地两极写其无所不达，与「无爪牙之利」形成巨大反差——条件如此之弱，成就却如此之著，其秘诀何在？「用心一也」四字揭晓答案：「一」写专一不二，一语道破——不是靠爪牙筋骨，而是靠心无旁骛。此句的论证逻辑极为严密：以最弱之物证最坚之理，蚓尚能如此，何况人乎？后文又以「蟹六跪而二螯，非蛇鳝之穴无可寄托者，用心躁也」作反衬，一「一」一「躁」，正反相形，把「专一则成、浮躁则败」的道理说得无以复加。寥寥数语，比喻、例证、对比、点睛俱全，是《劝学》说理艺术的浓缩。

This line takes the earthworm as example to prove the power of 'a single will,' the deepening and figuring of the 'carving without ceasing' proposition. 'The earthworm has no sharp claws or teeth, no strong sinews and bones' - the word 'no' at the head, first writing the earthworm's weak conditions: 'sharp claws or teeth' and 'strong sinews and bones' both postponed modifiers (i.e. 'claws that are sharp,' 'sinews that are strong'), the syntax archaic and forceful, marking the earthworm first without sharp claws, second without strong bones, the softest and meanest thing in nature; 'above it eats the dust of the earth, below it drinks the yellow springs' - 'above' and 'below' paired, writing the breadth of its range: above it eats earth, below it drinks springs, the two poles of heaven and earth writing its reaching everywhere, set against the 'no sharp claws' in vast contrast - conditions so weak, achievement so notable, what is the secret? 'Because its heart is one' four words revealing the answer: 'one' the undivided single-mindedness, naming it outright - not by claws and bones, but by the undistracted heart. The line's logic most tight: proving the firmest principle by the weakest thing; if the earthworm can do this, how much more man? Below, the 'crab with six legs and two pincers, yet nowhere to lodge but the holes of snakes and eels, because its heart is restless,' set as foil, one 'one' one 'restless,' positive and negative in contrast, saying 'unity succeeds, restlessness fails' to the utmost. A few words, metaphor, example, contrast, point all complete, the concentrate of Encouraging Learning's art.

Study

Word focus

锲 To carve or engrave. Xunzi uses this everyday act as a metaphor for persistent learning: only by continuing to 'carve'—repeated, patient effort—can one transform even the hardest material, just as cumulative carving can eventually pierce metal and stone. The word is the hinge linking both positive and negative clauses. 「锲而舍之」「锲而不舍」之「锲」字，是此节选立论的动词，贯穿正反两句的枢纽。「锲」本义为镌刻、雕刻，此处以雕刻动作设喻，取「刻」这一最平凡、最需要耐心的劳作，人人可解，亲切而有力。这个字的妙处有三：其一，它是「舍」与「不舍」的共同前提——先有「锲」（开始雕刻），才有「舍之」与「不舍」的选择，「锲」字一立，坚持与放弃的两种结局便有了共同的起点，对比因此成立；其二，它暗含「过程」之义——雕刻非一蹴可就，需一刀一刀反复镌刻，正是「积」的具象化，与上文「积土成山」「积水成渊」的「积」字呼应，与下文「金石可镂」的「镂」字衔接，一「锲」一「镂」，写尽持之以恒的过程；其三，它以平常之物写至深之理——锲是匠人之微技，而能镂金石，说明成就伟业不在技巧之高，而在坚持之久，与庖丁解牛「技进乎道」的精神相通。一字立骨，全段皆活，荀子炼字之精于此可见。

用心一也 Its mind is applied to a single purpose. The phrase sums up Xunzi's ideal of concentrated, undistracted effort: success in learning comes not from natural gifts but from single-minded devotion, contrasting with the 'restless' (zao) mind that accomplishes nothing—the firmest one-word verdict of the passage. 「用心一也」四字是此节选的点睛之笔，也是《劝学》「恒」「一」思想的凝练表达。「用心」指心思之所用，「一」指专一不二，「也」为判断语气——四字合言，断言蚯蚓的成功全在于心志专一。这四字的深意在于：其一，它以「一」对「杂」，确立了中国哲学「专一」的修养理想——老子「抱一为天下式」、孔子「吾道一以贯之」、孟子「专心致志」，荀子以「用心一也」论学，把「一」落实为学习的法门；其二，它与下文的「用心躁也」构成正反——「一」与「躁」对举，专一者虽弱而能成，浮躁者虽强而无所寄托，两相对照，「一」的价值不辩自明；其三，它把「恒」（锲而不舍）与「一」（用心专一）接通——坚持离不开专一，专一才有坚持，二字合为学习成功的不二法门，也为全篇「学不可以已」的总纲作了最坚实的注脚。四字虽短，却是先秦儒家「主敬」「专一」工夫论的经典表述，千载之下犹为读书人的座右铭。