Chinese idiom · 成语
精卫填海
Meaning
Jingwei fills the sea; persistent effort against impossible odds.
Character by character
Origin and story
legendThe Northern Mountains section of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) describes a bird called Jingwei on Mount Fajiu. It resembles a crow, with a patterned head, white beak, and red feet, and its cry gives its name. The text identifies it as Nüwa, the youngest daughter of the Flame Emperor—not the goddess Nüwa who repairs the sky, whose name is written differently. The girl drowned while visiting the Eastern Sea and became this bird.
Jingwei continually carries wood and stones from the western mountains to fill the sea. The brief myth does not say that the sea was finally filled. Later readers found in the tiny bird's immense task an image of determined persistence, as well as resistance born of injury.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
她以精卫填海的毅力，一页一页地整理祖父留下的手稿。
With Jingwei-like persistence, she organizes the manuscripts her grandfather left, page by page.
Often praises perseverance despite a daunting task; the story is myth, not recorded history.