Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 程门立雪 (Chéng mén lì xuě)

Sòng cháo yǒu yí wèi xuézhě, míng jiào Yáng Shí, tā niánqīng shí xūxīn-hǎoxué, duì lǎoshī shífēn zūn jìng.
宋朝有一位学者，名叫杨时，他年轻时虚心好学，对老师十分尊敬。

Yang Shi, a scholar in Song Dynasty, was modest and eager to learn and showed great respect to his teachers.

Yǒu yì tiān, tiānkōng wūyún mìbù, yǎn kàn jiù yào xià dàxuě le. Wǔfàn hòu, Yáng Shí xiǎng zhǎo lǎoshī Chéng Yí qǐngjiāo yí yī gè wèn tí, yúshì jiù yuē le tóngxué yìqǐ qù. Dào le lǎoshī jiā yǐhòu, kān mén rén shuō, Chéng Yí zhèngzài shuì wǔjiào. Tāmen búyuàn dǎrǎo lǎoshī, biàn yìshēng-bùxiǎng de zhàn zài mén wài děng zhe. Zhèshí, tiān shàng piāo qǐ le émáo dàxuě, yuè xià yuè dà, lǐnliè de hánfēng, dòng dé tāmen húnshēn fādǒu, dàn tāmen réngrán zhàn zài mén wài děng zhe. Guò le hǎocháng shíjiān, Chéng Yí xǐng le, zhè cái zhīdào liǎng gè xuéshēng zài mén wài xuědì lǐ yǐjīng děng le hěn jiǔ le, biàn gǎnkuài jiào tāmen jìnlái. Zhè shíhòu, mén wài de xuě, yǐjīng yǒu yì chǐ duō hòu le.
有一天，天空乌云密布，眼看就要下大雪了。午饭后，杨时想找老师程颐（Chéng Yí）请教一个问题，于是就约了同学一起去。到了老师家以后，看门人说，程颐正在睡午觉。他们不愿打扰老师，便一声不响地站在门外等着。这时，天上飘起了 鹅毛大雪，越下越大，凛冽的寒风，冻得他们浑身发抖，但他们仍然站在门外等着。过了好长时间，程颐醒了，这才知道两个学生在门外雪地里已经等了很久了，便 赶快叫他们进来。这时候，门外的雪，已经有一尺多厚了。

One day, as dark clouds loomed overhead; it seemed that it would begin to snow heavily at any moment. After lunch, Yang Shi wanted to consult Cheng Yi his teacher regarding a certain question, thereafter he invited one of his classmates to go along with him. When they arrived at his teacher’s house, the gate keeper said Cheng Yi was having a nap. They did not want to disturb their teacher, so they quietly waited outside. At that time, large snowflakes began to fall and the snowfall became heavier and heavier. The freezing wind left them shivering from head to toe, yet they continued to wait outside the door. After quite some time, Cheng Yi upon waking up became aware that his two students had been waiting outside in the snow for a long time and asked them to come in at once. By this time the snowfall had already reached one foot thick.

Words:
宋朝sòngcháo： The Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) （PN.）
学者xuézhě： scholar; learned man（n.）
虚心好学xū xīn hào xué： be modest and eager to learn（idiom.）
乌云密布wū yún mì bù： (The sky) clouded over; black clouds gather overhead（idiom.）
请教qǐngjiào： consult（v.）
午觉wǔjiào： afternoon nap; noontime snooze（n.）
打扰dǎrǎo： disturb; trouble（v.）
凛冽lǐnliè： piercingly cold; biting cold; bitter cold（adj.）
浑身húnshēn： from head to foot; all over（adv.）
发抖fādǒu： shiver; shake（v.）
尺chǐ： a unit of length (=1/3 metre) （MW.）

Meanings:

“程门立雪”比喻尊敬师长，求学心切。

“程门立雪” means to honor the teacher and be eager to learn.

Sentences:

1. Rúguǒ wǒ men yǒu chéngmén-lìxuě de jīngshén, jiù yídìng néng qǔ dé hǎo chéngjì.
如果我们有程门立雪的精神，就一定能取得好成绩。

If we are eager to learn, we are sure to have good results.

2. Rúguǒ nǐ xiǎngcǎi fǎng zhè wèi cóng bù jiēshòu cǎifǎng de yìshùjiā, bìxū yào yǒu “chéngmén-lìxuě”de jīngshén qù dǎdòng tā.
如果你想采访这位从不接受采访的艺术家，必须要有“程门立雪”的精神去打动他。

If you want to interview with this artist who never accepts interviews, you must move him with humble reverence.