推敲

Etymology
From the story of the poet  (779–843). Legend has it that one day while he was riding on his donkey, he was deliberating over the following line in his poem:

He was pondering whether the should be replaced by.

In fact, he was so engrossed in his deliberation that he did not notice an official's convoy coming, and ran straight into it. He was then taken for questioning on why he failed to avoid the convoy, and he explained that he was deep in thought about a poem he composed. The official whom Jia ran into was, a famous Tang dynasty essayist and poet. After deliberation, Han said would be a better word choice in this verse, since it highlights the quietness of the night. Jia regarded Han as his “one-character teacher”, followed his advice, and finalised verses of the poem.

Verb

 * 1) to deliberate; to think over; to give a thought to; to weigh up; to scrutinize

Noun

 * 1) revising, polishing of a text

Verb

 * 1) revise, polish a text