懸樑刺股

懸樑／悬梁 (xuán liáng) refers to what Sun Jing (孫敬／孙敬) of Eastern Han did:

孫敬，字文寶，好學，晨夕不休。及至眠睡疲寢，以繩系頭，懸屋樑。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

孙敬，字文宝，好学，晨夕不休。及至眠睡疲寝，以绳系头，悬屋梁。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

Sūn Jìng, zì Wénbǎo, hǎoxué, chén xī bùxiū. Jízhì mián shuì pí qǐn, yǐ shéng xì tóu, xuán wūliáng. [Pinyin]

Sun Jing, courtesy name Wenbao, was studious. He would study from morning to night. When he felt sleepy, he would tie his hair with a string and hang it on the rafters (so that if he fell asleep, he would be awakened).

刺股 (cì gǔ) refers to what Su Qin did:

讀書欲睡，引錐自刺其股，血流至足。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

读书欲睡，引锥自刺其股，血流至足。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhanguo Ce, circa 5^th – 3^rd centuries BCE

Dúshū yù shuì, yǐn zhuī zì cì qí gǔ, xuè liú zhì zú. [Pinyin]

When he (Su Qin) felt sleepy while studying, he would use an awl to prick his thighs (in order to stay awake) until blood flew over his feet.

懸樑刺股

1. to study diligently