他山之石可以攻玉

tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù

lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside

to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively

他

tā

(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his

山

shān

mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4])

之

zhī

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])

石

shí

abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shi2 jia1 zhuang1], the capital of Hebei

可

kě

(prefix) can; may; able to; -able

以

yǐ

abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]

攻

gōng

to attack

玉

yù

jade