Zhang Zai, a renowned philosopher of China's Northern Song Dynasty, lost his father—a local magistrate in Fuzhou—who died in office. Too young to return home, Zhang Zai settled in Hengqu Town, Meixian County, earning him the nickname "Master Hengqu."
In his youth, the scholar Zhang Zai was fascinated by military strategy and wrote to Fan Zhongyan, the deputy commander of Shaanxi, requesting to join the fight against the Western Xia. Fan Zhongyan, impressed by his talent, advised him, "There's no need to focus solely on war manuals. Instead, delve into the Confucian classic *The Doctrine of the Mean*."
After reading *The Doctrine of the Mean*, Zhang Zai found its reasoning too shallow, so he delved into the philosophical classic *The Book of Changes*, gradually forming his own progressive materialist and dialectical philosophical ideas.
Zhang Zai was thirty-eight before he passed the imperial examinations, serving as a local official in several posts. His forthright nature, however, offended the ruling ministers. In 1069, he resigned and returned to Hengqu Town. Though remote and impoverished, Zhang Zai found contentment there, undisturbed by hardship.
In Hengqu, Zhang Zai never let a day pass without a book in hand, often forgetting to eat or sleep while wrestling with difficult questions. Late at night, when his wife and children were fast asleep, he would still be lost in thought. Whenever a sudden insight struck, he would throw on his robe, get out of bed, light a candle, and jot down his reflections.
As Zhang Zai tirelessly delved into his studies, his reputation grew, attracting many young scholars seeking his guidance. He earnestly instructed them, hoping they would soon achieve mastery.
In 1076, the philosopher Zhang Zai selected two passages from his philosophical work *Correcting Ignorance* and inscribed them on the east and west doors of his study, creating the famous "East Inscription" and "West Inscription." In the "West Inscription," he wrote, "Poverty, lowliness, and sorrowful circumstances can temper one's will, serving as a whetstone to help you achieve success." This distilled his life's experience into a single, powerful insight.
Later, people used the idiom "Jade You in Completion" to refer to loving someone like jade and helping them succeed.
Source: Zhang Zai (Song Dynasty), *Western Inscription*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "玉汝于成" came to describe loving someone like jade and helping them succeed.