rack one 's brains in vain
In Chinese, Pinyin is w ǎ NGF è IX ī NJ ì, which means to waste one's mind. From a dream of Red Mansions.
The origin of Idioms
Chapter 106 of a dream of Red Mansions: "now I've spent all my life in vain, but I've fallen behind."
Idiom usage
It's a waste of time.
Chinese PinYin : wǎng fèi xīn jì
rack one 's brains in vain
point at the chicken and curse the dog. zhǐ zhū mà gǒu
Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. ruì xuě zhào fēng nián
cede territory and ask for peace. gē dì qiú hé
there remained but a single one. shuò guǒ jǐn cún