To bore a hole in a wall to steal a light
To study very diligently despite facing hardship
Positive
同学们的学习环境已经大大改善，再也不用凿壁偷光了 | Tóngxuémen de xuéxí huánjìng yǐjīng dàdà gǎishàn, zài yě bùyòng záobìtōuguāng le
The students' work environments improved significantly, so they no longer have to overcome such arduous conditions to study
[Source]
学习是很艰苦的事，没有凿壁偷光，锲而不舍的精神是不行的 | Xuéxí shì hěn jiānkǔ de shì, méiyǒu záobìtōuguāng, qiè'érbùshě de jīngshén shì bùxíng de
Studying is a very arduous task, so one must have great perserverance
[Source]
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凿壁借光 (záo bì jiè guāng)
None
《西京杂记》(Xī Jīng Zá Jì), a collection of stories by the Han Dynasty (汉, 206 BC- 220 AD) author 刘歆 (Liú Xīn)
In the Western Han Dynasty (西汉, Xī Hàn, 206 BC - 8 AD), there lived a little boy named 匡衡 (Kuāng Héng) who loved to read and study. However, his family was so deeply impoverished that they were unable to afford candles, and his studies were often stunted because he was left unable to study at night.
Then one night, when 匡衡 was lying on his bed reciting parts of the book that he'd read during the day, he suddenly saw a bright beam of light shining through a hole in his wall. He realized that the light came from his wealthier neighbor's lamps, and he promptly carved away at the hole the until he could use the light that came through it to read. From then on, he was able to borrow his neighbor's light to study his books.
With the issue of being unable to read at night out the way, 匡衡 now faced an even bigger issue: he was unable to afford books, as they were extremely expensive at the time. Eventually, though, 匡衡 came up with an idea for how to solve this too. When crops came in, he farmed for wealthy families, and instead of asking for wages in return for his labor, he successfully got them to lend him their books to read.
匡衡's perseverance and resourcefulness eventually paid off, and he became a well-known scholar.