Chinese idiom · 成语
铁石心肠
Meaning
Heart of iron and stone; unyielding or cold-hearted.
Character by character
Origin and story
historical-literary expressionAn early related image appears in Wei Wu Gushi, quoted in Pei Songzhi's commentary on Records of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao praises Wang Bi, an official who had served him through difficult beginnings, as loyal, hardworking, and possessed of a heart like iron and stone. Hardness here means reliability, not cruelty. Later writing also applies iron-and-stone imagery to the austere statesman Song Jing, contrasting his public character with his delicate literary work. The familiar idiom retained the idea of a heart that does not easily yield, but modern use often condemns someone who seems untouched by another person's suffering.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
听完老人求助的经过，连平时被说铁石心肠的主管也主动捐了款。
After hearing why the elderly man needed help, even the supposedly hard-hearted supervisor offered a donation.
Usually critical today, though older contexts can praise firmness.