"Opening a book is always beneficial" means that as long as one opens a book and reads, one will gain something. This idiom originates from Wang Pizhi's *Mianshui Yantan Lu* of the Song Dynasty, which records that Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi of the Song Dynasty was fond of reading and read three volumes of *Taiping Yulan* every day. Despite being busy with state affairs, he still persisted, saying, "Opening a book is always beneficial; I do not consider it toilsome." Its deeper meaning lies in emphasizing the universal value of reading: no matter when or where, as long as one reads attentively, one can always gain knowledge, inspiration, or spiritual enjoyment. It is used in a wide range of scenarios, often to encourage others to read, to motivate oneself, or to evaluate reading behavior, and carries a positive and affirmative emotional tone. In terms of cultural background, it reflects the Chinese nation's tradition of valuing education and advocating knowledge, echoing ideas such as "In books there are houses of gold." In modern society, this idiom still has practical significance, reminding people to maintain the habit of reading in an era of information explosion and to draw wisdom from books.
📝 Example
Our teacher often tells us that reading is always beneficial—reading more extracurricular books can broaden our horizons.
In the library, he casually picked up a history book and leafed through it. Unexpectedly, reading proved rewarding—it actually solved a problem that had puzzled him for a long time.