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Zhú ShíBamboo and Rock 竹石

Zheng Xie (郑燮, also known as Zheng Banqiao)｜Qing｜seven-character quatrain

Zheng Xie on bamboo rooted in cracked rock, standing firm in winds from every side.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

咬定青山不放松
yǎo dìng qīng shān bù fàng sōng

立根原在破岩中
lì gēn yuán zài pò yán zhōng

千磨万击还坚劲
qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìn

任尔东西南北风
rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng

Simplified characters; traditional title: 竹石.

It bites hard into the green mountain and won't let go,

its roots set deep in a crack of broken rock.

Ground down a thousand times, struck ten thousand, still firm and strong —

let the wind blow from east, west, south or north.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

咬定青山不放松 · yǎo dìng qīng shān bù fàng sōng — It bites hard into the green mountain and won't let go,

立根原在破岩中 · lì gēn yuán zài pò yán zhōng — its roots set deep in a crack of broken rock.

千磨万击还坚劲 · qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìn — Ground down a thousand times, struck ten thousand, still firm and strong —

任尔东西南北风 · rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng — let the wind blow from east, west, south or north.

Zheng Xie on bamboo rooted in cracked rock, standing firm in winds from every side. The scene stays with you.

Zheng Xie on bamboo rooted in cracked rock, standing firm in winds from every side.

Zheng Banqiao wrote bamboo-and-stone inscriptions of stubborn grace.

Lifetime: 1693–1765. Other famous works: Bamboo and Rock (竹石).