文不加点

Pronunciation: wén bù jiā diǎn Literal meaning: Writing needing no corrections

Origin & Usage

The Book of Later Han says of Mi Heng that he took up the brush at a banquet and finished a long rhapsody on the spot — 文无加点, writing that took no added mark, the wording the modern 文不加点 slightly alters. The 点 is the dot a writer made to strike out an error, so the claim is that there were none to make. It praises writing that came out finished, which is a claim about the draft rather than about the result, and it is the compliment paid to somebody who does not appear to revise.

Examples

English: "The novelist's manuscript was so perfect it required no editorial changes"

Chinese: 这位小说家的手稿如此完美，不需要任何编辑修改