磨杵成针

mó chǔ chéng zhēn

to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task

to study diligently

to rub

chǔ

pestle

chéng

short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]

zhēn

variant of 針|针[zhen1], needle