Iron needs time and effort to become steel
Decoded“Iron needs time and effort to become steel” is a Chinese expression that Young Lillie uses to frame his argument about Rong Jinzhen’s education. The proverb turns development into a process of patient work: exceptional ability, in his view, still needs time, learning, and practice to become fully useful.
Meaning and Context
Young Lillie offers the expression while disagreeing with a professor’s view of Rong Jinzhen. He acknowledges the boy’s unusual cleverness but stresses that he lacks basic ordinary knowledge. Because he has not learned familiar methods, Rong Jinzhen sometimes devises strange, ingenious ways to accomplish simple tasks. Young Lillie sees that ingenuity as a consequence of what the boy has not yet been taught, rather than as deliberate eccentricity.
Role in Young Lillie’s Argument
The proverb supports a practical educational claim: Rong Jinzhen should spend more time studying what others have already established, so that he can later pursue genuinely unknown problems from a sound foundation. Young Lillie asks the professor to make an exception to a notice forbidding requests to borrow books and allow Rong Jinzhen to read from his library. He closes the appeal with another saying about the value of books, making the proverb part of a larger case for patient preparation rather than isolated brilliance.
