悬xuán梁liáng刺cì股gǔ

Literal: to hang [one's head from] the beam, to prick [one's own] thigh
Figurative: To study with extreme, painstaking effort, enduring sleep and fatigue in order to learn.

Where does 悬梁刺股 come from?

The saying fuses two old anecdotes. Sun Jing, of the Han dynasty, studied late into the night and, to keep from falling asleep, tied his hair to the roof beam: when his head nodded with drowsiness, the tug woke him. Separately, Su Qin, a strategist of the Warring States, would jab an awl into his own thigh when sleep overcame him as he read, the pain keeping him awake. From both images came the expression praising relentless study.

Source (出处): 《战国策》

How is 悬梁刺股 used? Two examples

为wèi了le考kǎo上shàng理lǐ想xiǎng的de大dà学xué，他tā悬xuán梁liáng刺cì股gǔ，整zhěng整zhěng苦kǔ读dú了le一yī年nián。
To get into his dream university, he studied with grueling dedication, a whole year of hard work.
现xiàn在zài条tiáo件jiàn这zhè么me好hǎo，可kě惜xī很hěn少shǎo有yǒu人rén愿yuàn意yì像xiàng古gǔ人rén那nà样yàng悬xuán梁liáng刺cì股gǔ了le。
Conditions are so good now that, sadly, few are willing to study with the painstaking devotion of the ancients.

In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.