Historical Tales
历史故事
To the One’s Hair on the House Beam and Jab One’s Side with an Awl to Keep Oneself Awake-Take Great Pains with One’s Study
悬梁刺股
The allusion comes from Tai Ping Yu Lan and Strategies of the Warring States.
这则典故出自《太平御览》和《战国策》。
In Tai Ping Yu Lan Biographies of Virtuous Persons of the Chu State, Li Fang records ：
《太平御览•楚人传记》中，李昉记载：
In the early Han Dynasty, a man named Sun Jing who was eager to learn often studied late at night.
汉朝初期，一个叫孙敬的人，非常好学，总是读书到半夜。
When he felt sleepy, he tied his hair to the roof beam, so, when he dozed he would feel pain and woke up when his hair was pulled upward by the rope.
当他感到困倦的时候，他就讲自己的头发绑在房梁上，这样，他一打瞌睡就会因为绳子牵扯住头发而感到疼痛。
Then he would go on with his study.
之后，他就可以继续学习了。
In Volume One of Anecdotes of the Qin State in Strategies of the Warring States there is another story as follows:
《战国策•秦策一》中，有另一个故事：
Su Qin felt sleepy when he was reading， so he took an awl and stabbed it into his own legs.
苏秦在读书时感到困乏，于是就用锥子往大腿上刺一下。
The blood flew to his feet.
血流到他的脚上。
Now people like to praise with this allusion those who grind away at their studies.
现在人们喜欢用这则典故来形容发奋想学的人。
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