| 披荆斩棘 |
pī jīng zhǎn jí |
lit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom) / fig. to overcome all obstacles on the way / to break through hardships / to blaze a new trail |
| 披 |
pī |
to drape over one's shoulders / to open / to unroll / to split open / to spread out |
| 荆 |
Jīng |
an early name for the state of Chu 楚国 / surname Jing |
| 荆 |
jīng |
chaste tree or its berry (Vitex agnus-castus) / (literary) cane or switch made from a chaste tree, used for punishment |
| 斩 |
zhǎn |
to behead (as form of capital punishment) / to chop |
| 棘 |
jí |
thorns |