披荊斬棘 pī jīng zhǎn jí

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom)
  2. fig. to overcome all obstacles on the way
  3. to break through hardships
  4. to blaze a new trail

CHARACTERS

披 pī wear; split; crack
荊 jīng thorns; brambles; my wife; cane
斬 zhǎn cut, chop, sever; behead
棘 jí jujube tree; thorns, brambles