Chinese idiom · 成语
囊萤映雪
Meaning
Bag of fireflies, reflection of snow; studying despite poverty.
Character by character
Origin and story
Traditional anecdotesThis expression joins two separate accounts of studying in difficult conditions. The Book of Jin (晋书) says Che Yin's family could not always afford lamp oil. In summer he collected fireflies in a silk bag and used their light to continue reading after daylight. A parallel is quoted from Xu Jin Yangqiu (续晋阳秋) in the Yiwen Leiju (艺文类聚).
The snow story belongs to Sun Kang. The Chuxue Ji (初学记), volume 2, quotes Song Qi Yu (宋齐语) as saying that poverty led him to read by reflected snowlight. Neither passage requires the scholars to have met or studied together. Their stories became a paired emblem of diligence, not practical recommendations for lighting a study space.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
如今学习条件这么好，我们更该珍惜机会，发扬囊萤映雪的苦学精神。
With such good study conditions today, we should value our opportunities and carry forward that spirit of diligent learning.
Literary praise of dedication to study despite material hardship.