Pinyin: nshu ǐ xí ngzhu abbreviation: nsxz
Synonym: advance despite difficulties and go upstream; Antonym: retreat from difficulties and smooth sailing.
Usage: more formal; As predicate and object; Often used with not moving forward or backward.
Description: Sail against the current. Metaphor is to retreat without trying.
Source: Lu Xun's essay "Pavilion, Pavilion and Foreign Language": "Even if there are still some boats sailing against the current, I will pull the fiber."
Example: Even if there is still some, we still have to pull the fiber at present. (Lu Xun's essay "Talking about Foreign Languages in a Pavilion")
Postscript: punting against the current
Riddle: Jiujiang goes to Chongqing by boat.
Idiom story: