Chinese idiom · 成语
百炼成钢
Meaning
A hundred forgings make steel; resilience through trials.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary metaphorThe metaphor draws on repeatedly working metal to produce strong steel. An early literary expression of this image occurs in Liu Kun's poem Chong Zeng Lu Chen (重贈盧諶): he contrasts metal refined many times with something so soft it can wind around a finger. In the poem, the contrast is a lament about frustrated strength, not a straightforward success story.
The familiar idiom takes the strengthening side of the metalworking image: repeated training and demanding experience can develop capable, resilient people. It is not necessary to imagine a particular blacksmith or exactly one hundred attempts. The ancient image is well attested, while the exact four-character form should not be quoted as though it appears in Liu Kun's line.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
经过多次失败和改进，这支团队终于百炼成钢。
After repeated failures and improvements, the team finally became strong and capable.
Praise for strength developed through repeated practice or trials, not suffering for its own sake.