(of a scholar’s life in old China) tenyear study at a cold window—a student’s long years of hard work
十年寒窗shi nian han chuang
ten years’study at a cold window,meaning a student’s long years of hard work,usually used to describe the life of a scholar in imperial China
十年寒窗
ten years of hard study—long years of hard work;prolonged perseverance in one’s studies inspite of hardships
～无人问，一举成名天下闻 an unknown scholar working hard at his studies for ten long years became a celebrity the moment he passed the imperial examination