"To finally make it" — Phrase of the Week
Two Chinese mathematicians finally made it... But not in China
Our phrase of the week is: “to finally make it” (修成正果 xiū chéng zhèng guǒ)
Context
Two Chinese mathematicians have won the Fields Medal, which is also known as the “Nobel Prize of Mathematics”. They are the first from mainland China to ever to win the prestigious prize.
The pair are Wang Hong (王虹) and Deng Yu (邓煜). They also turned out to be former classmates, having studied at Peking University (北京大学) in 2007.
After the announcement the story began trending online in China. At first it was all good news. State media championed the two winners as examples of homegrown, world-beating talent.
But as more details about Wang and Deng surfaced, celebration turned into a heated debate about the pitfalls of China’s higher education system.
Because the two winners spent the last decade overseas after leaving Peking University (PKU). Wang left PKU for France, and later moved on to the United States. Deng lasted only two years there before heading to MIT.
So in both cases, the prize-winning work was done abroad.
The official coverage steered clear of all this. State media praised the pair, celebrating their “Chinese nationality”.
But one education expert in China pushed back on this, pointing out:
“The excitement fixates on the ‘Chinese nationality’ of the two medalists, while avoiding the key question:
Why is it that they only ever finally make it once they are abroad?”
但是，高兴聚焦点是在”中国籍”上，却很少触碰一个实质性的问题——为什么都是在国外才最终“修成正果”。
And with that, we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week.
What it means
“To finally make it” is a loose rendering of a four-character Chinese phrase which translates as “to cultivate” (修 xiū), “to achieve” (成 chéng), “true” (正 zhèng) and “fruit” (果 guǒ).
This phrase has its roots in Buddhism. The “fruit” (果) is the outcome of practice. A believer climbs a ladder of attainments known as “fruits” (果位), rising from the arhat (阿罗汉) all the way up to Buddhahood (成佛). The “true” (正) fruit is the genuine, orthodox attainment, as opposed to the false fruits promised by lesser paths. To reach it is to “complete the long road of cultivation” (修成) and arrive at enlightenment, which is also the end of suffering.
Most Chinese people first meet the idea of “cultivation to the true fruits” not in Buddhist scripture but in the novel, Journey to the West (西游记), the great Ming Dynasty fantasy attributed to Wu Cheng’en (吴承恩), and one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.
Its plot is one long journey of cultivation. The monk, Tang Sanzang (唐僧), and his disciples must survive eighty-one tribulations (九九八十一难) on the pilgrimage to find the Buddhist scriptures. Only at the very end of that journey, does the Buddha reward each of them with their “fruit”.
To the Monkey King, Sun Wukong (孙悟空), the Buddha says:
“It pleases me that you have shunned evil and done good, and that along the road you subdued demons and monsters, seeing it through from start to finish.
You are raised now to the true fruit, and shall be the Victorious Fighting Buddha.”
且喜汝隐恶扬善，在途中炼魔降怪有功，全终全始，加升大职正果，汝为斗战胜佛。
The concept also appears in a Ming story collection, Slapping the Table in Amazement (初刻拍案惊奇), by Ling Mengchu (凌濛初, 1580–1644), where a tangled romance comes right in the end:
“Who would have thought such a fateful match nearly cost the young woman her whole life — yet in the end it still came good.”
谁知是老大一段姻缘，几乎把女子一生断送了！还亏得后来成了正果。
Here the “true fruit” is not enlightenment but a happy marriage. And that hints at how the phrase works today.
In modern Chinese, the phrase “to finally make it” has two uses. This first meaning describes a couple who after many years of courtship, finally marry. The second meaning, which closer to this week’s story, is to reach success after a long and punishing effort.
It’s used pointedly or ironically in relation to academics. It describes the overworked young university lecturer who “finally makes it” by landing a teaching post after many years, only to continue with yet more pushing effort on the job.
Wang Hong and Deng Yu certainly did put in many years of effort, and in the end did “finally make it”.
They just had to leave China to do it.
Andrew Methven is the author of RealTime Mandarin, a resource which helps you bridge the gap to real-world fluency in Mandarin, stay informed about China, and communicate with confidence—all through weekly immersion in real news. Subscribe for free here.
