xī​mò​rú​jīn

sparing with ink

惜墨如金 xī​mò​rú​jīn
sparing with ink
Originally of painting, to apply ink in thin layers to create depth and nuance rather than using heavy ink all at once
to be stingy with one's work
Reluctant to give away one's own calligraphy or paintings to others
to write or paint sparingly
To be extremely cautious and meticulous in writing, calligraphy, or painting, prioritizing conciseness and quality

Frequency

Written text
0.051 per million

Sources

Frequency data
BCC Corpus (BLCU)