Listen to this articlezáobì-jièguāng 凿壁借光
Borrow Light from a Next Door Neighbor
凿穿墙壁，借邻居的烛光照明读书。西汉时期大文学家匡衡年幼家贫，他酷爱读书但家中没有蜡烛供他夜间读书，他就将墙凿开一个洞，借邻居的烛光发奋读书，终成一代学者。作为中国古代著名的励志故事，其意义超越了具体的行为，重在勤学苦读的精神。
By boring a hole in the next door neighbor’s wall, he borrows light in order to read. Well-known scholar Kuang Heng in the Western Han Dynasty loved reading but his family was too poor to afford candles for him to read at night, so he chiseled a hole in the next door neighbor’s wall to “borrow light” in order to read. He later became a great scholar. As an inspirational story in ancient times, its significance extends beyond the story itself. It tells how important it is to be diligent in gaining knowledge.
引例 Citation：
◎匡衡字稚圭，勤学而无烛。邻舍有烛而不逮，衡乃穿壁引其光，以书映光而读之。（《西京杂记》卷二）
（匡衡字稚圭，他勤奋好学，但家中没有蜡烛。邻家有蜡烛，但光亮照不到他家，匡衡就在墙壁上凿了洞引来邻家的光亮，借着光亮读书。）
Kuang Heng, also known as Zhigui, was very diligent in his studies but had no candles to allow him to read at night. The next door neighbor had candles but there was no way for him to use the light unless he chiseled a hole in the wall. He did so and was able to read with the ray of light from the next door neighbor. (Collection of Miscellaneous Stories in the Western Capital)
