# 汗牛充栋

hàn niú chōng dòng

An enormous quantity of books or writings

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Make hauling oxen sweat and fill the rafters

**Traditional Chinese:** 汗牛充棟

**Register:** Descriptive · literary

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe a vast body of written material.

Not a measure of quality or accuracy.

## Understanding the expression

Books are so numerous that moving them strains an ox and storing them fills a building. The expression celebrates or emphasizes the scale of a written collection. Modern use applies to libraries, scholarship, and publications on a topic. It does not normally describe every kind of crowded object. Nor does abundance establish quality. A field can have vast literature while still leaving readers to judge which works are reliable, useful, and relevant.

## Examples

相关著作已经汗牛充栋。

### Traditional Chinese

相關著作已經汗牛充棟。

xiāng guān zhù zuò yǐ jīng hàn niú chōng dòng 。

There is already a vast literature on the subject.

他的藏书汗牛充栋。

### Traditional Chinese

他的藏書汗牛充棟。

tā de cáng shū hàn niú chōng dòng 。

His book collection is enormous.

历史研究资料汗牛充栋。

### Traditional Chinese

歷史研究資料汗牛充棟。

lì shǐ yán jiū zī liào hàn niú chōng dòng 。

Historical research material exists in vast quantities.

书虽汗牛充栋，仍要认真筛选。

### Traditional Chinese

書雖汗牛充棟，仍要認真篩選。

shū suī hàn niú chōng dòng ， réng yào rèn zhēn shāi xuǎn 。

Even a vast collection needs careful selection.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%B1%97%E7%89%9B%E5%85%85%E6%A3%9F)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=253&webMd=1&la=0)

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