七步成章 — “Seven steps make a chapter/essay”
七步成章 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be extremely quick-witted and talented, especially in literary composition; to compose a poem or essay with great speed and skill”. Literally, “seven steps make a chapter/essay”.
七步成章 Pronunciation and Pinyin
七步成章 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 七步成章
Origin and Story of 七步成章
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi, the youngest son of Cao Cao, was known for his quick wit and brilliant literary talent.
His elder brother, Cao Pi, who had dethroned Emperor Xian of Han and established the Wei dynasty, challenged Cao Zhi to compose a poem within the time it took to walk seven steps.
Cao Zhi promptly recited: 'Beans are boiled to make soup, the husks are strained to make juice; the beanstalks burn beneath the pot, the beans weep within the pot; we were born from the same root, why are we so eager to torment each other!'
Cao Pi, still finding 'composing an essay in seven steps' too slow, further demanded that Cao Zhi compose a poem instantly upon hearing a prompt.
Idioms Related to 七步成章
Synonyms of 七步成章
More idioms starting with 七
- qī七qī七bā八bā八more or less; in bits and pieces
- qī七shàng上bā八xià下agitated and restless
- qī七shàng上bā八luò落agitated and unsettled
- qī七le了bā八dāng当Everything is properly arranged and settled
- qī七shì事bā八shì事numerous and jumbled matters
- qī七dào倒bā八wāi歪in complete disarray
- qī七shí十èr二biàn变numerous and varied transformations
- qī七shí十èr二háng行all trades and professions
- qī七kǒu口bā八zuǐ嘴many people talking at once
- qī七zuǐ嘴bā八zhāng张many people talking at once
- qī七zuǐ嘴bā八shé舌many people talking at once
- qī七dà大bā八xiǎo小of varying or uneven sizes
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →Questions about 七步成章
What does 七步成章 mean?
七步成章 (qī bù chéng zhāng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be extremely quick-witted and talented, especially in literary composition; to compose a poem or essay with great speed and skill”.
How do you pronounce 七步成章?
七步成章 is pronounced qī bù chéng zhāng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 七步成章 literally mean?
Literally, 七步成章 means “seven steps make a chapter/essay”. It is used to mean “to be extremely quick-witted and talented, especially in literary composition; to compose a poem or essay with great speed and skill”.
Where does 七步成章 come from?
七步成章 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 七步成章?
称人才思敏捷。同“七步成诗”。