Rome Was Not Built With a Single drop 水滴石穿

The Chinese idiom 水滴石穿 (shui3 di1 shi2 chuan1) literally means constant dripping wears away the stone and comes from 《鹤林玉露》 written by Luo Dajing in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Zhang Guaiya was the magistrate of Chongyang County. He was committed to eliminating the corruption that was widespread among public officials at the time. However, for a long time he was not very successful. Then one day, Zhang was out patrolling when he saw an aide come scurrying out of the local government office. He stopped the aide and asked him why he was in such a hurry. However, the aide hemmed and hawed, which made the magistrate very suspicious. It was at this point that the magistrate noticed a coin tucked behind the aide's ear. After some tough questioning, the aide finally admitted that he had pilfered the coin from the government office.

The magistrate decided to make an example of the aide and took him immediately to court. The aide protested:

Why are you making such a fuss? I have only stolen one coin. Surely, you would not execute me for that.

But the magistrate responded:

Yes, I would. If I let you live and you steal one coin a day, then after a thousand days the money stolen would amount to 1,000 coins. With a single dro of water a day, the stone will eventually wear away.

Then the magistrate whipped out his sword and chopped off the aide's head. The entire court was stunned, but the magistrate explained that he had not executed the official only as a punishment for his ill-gotten gains, but he also wanted to send a warning to other officials that corruption does not pay.

Today, this popular Chinese idiom is used frequently to underscore the idea that it takes a constant effort and patience to do something difficult or important. The English expression which expresses a similar sentiment is - Rome was not built in a day.