Chinese idioms 汉语成语 : Jing Wei Tian Hai (双语)

注音：jīnɡ　wèi　tián　hǎi
精　　卫　　填　  海

English: The mythical bird Jingwei trying to fill up the sea

成语故事：

从前，炎帝（传说中中国原始社会的统治者）的小女儿在东海上划船（huá chuán, to row a boat）。正当她划得高兴时，海面上突然升起一阵大风，把她的小船弄翻了。就在她要被汹涌（xiōng yǒng, surge）的波浪吞没时，她的灵魂（líng hún, spirit）变成了一只美丽的小鸟。它飞过那咆哮（páoxiào, raoring）的海面，伤心地叫着“精卫，精卫”的声音。所以人们就叫“精卫”。

精卫鸟住在靠海的一座山上。它非常恨大海，所以决心要把它填平（tián píng, filling up to flat）。它每天来回于山海之间，把从山上衔（xián, to hold in the mouth）来的小树枝和小石子扔在大海里。
一天，咆哮的大海对精卫说：“可怜的小鸟，停止你那无谓（wú wèi, meaningless）的举动吧！你是永远都填不平我的。” 精卫回答说：“我当然会把你填平的！即使这需要千千万万年的时间，我也一定会斗争到底，直到你的末日（mò rì, doomsday）来临！”

这只勇敢(yǒng gǎn, brave)的小鸟继续从山上衔来小树枝和小石子，扔到东海中，从未有片刻(piàn kè, moment)休息。

“精卫填海”这个成语就是由这个传说而来的，形容那些坚定不移（jiān dìng bù yí, firm），不屈不挠（bù qū bù náo, indomitable），不到目的决不罢休的人。

The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea 

Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly in the sound "jinwei, jingwei". That was why people called it "Jingwei".

The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mountain and dropping it into the sea.

One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop doing that meaningless thing! You'll never fill me up." Jingwei replied, "I'll fill you up no doubt! I will, even if it'll take me thousands of years! I'll fight on until doomsday!"

The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest.

From this fable comes the idiom "The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea". We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal.

相关阅读：
典故：《山海经•北山经》：“炎帝之少女名曰精卫。精卫游于东海，溺而不返，故为精卫，常衔西山之木石，以堙于东海。