Chinese idiom · 成语
程门立雪
Meaning
To stand in snow at Cheng’s gate; to show utmost respect for a teacher.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical accountSong Shi (宋史), volume 428, records that Yang Shi had studied with Cheng Hao and later went to Cheng Yi in Luoyang. On one visit, Cheng Yi was sitting with his eyes closed. Yang Shi and You Zuo remained standing in attendance rather than leaving or disturbing him. When Cheng Yi awoke, the snow outside the door was a chi deep.
The biography is more restrained than pictures of children deliberately standing in a blizzard: Yang Shi was an adult scholar, and it says the snow lay outside, not that the teacher ordered a test of endurance. The idiom commemorates respect for a teacher and earnestness in learning.
In everyday life
她每次请教老师都认真准备问题，这份程门立雪的诚意令人感动。
She carefully prepares questions whenever she consults her teacher; her sincere respect for learning is moving.
A literary allusion to respectful study, not a demand that students endure harmful conditions.