櫛風沐雨

From Zhuangzi:

禹親自操橐耜而九雜天下之川。腓無胈，脛無毛，沐甚雨，櫛疾風，置萬國。禹，大聖也，而形勞天下也如此。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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禹亲自操橐耜而九杂天下之川。腓无胈，胫无毛，沐甚雨，栉疾风，置万国。禹，大圣也，而形劳天下也如此。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

Yǔ qīnzì cāo tuó sì ér jiǔ zá tiānxià zhī chuān. Féi wú bá, jìng wú máo, mù shèn yǔ, zhì jífēng, zhì wànguó. Yǔ, dàshèng yě, ér xíng láo tiānxià yě rúcǐ. [Pinyin]

Yu worked with his spade and basket in removing the sludge himself, and eventually diverted the floods into the major rivers. In doing so, he spared no pains and went from place to place in spite of devastating storms of wind and rain to help all the stricken people settle down. He walked so much that his shanks were reduced to skin and bones, fine hair on them rubbed away. Yu was such a great sage and yet was so much concerned about the common people.

Note that 沐 (mù) originally meant ‘to wash one's hair’, especially here as quoted above, which can be proven by 櫛／栉 (zhì, “to comb one's hair”).

櫛風沐雨

1. to travel and work despite harsh conditions; to work very hard

   • 初，高祖太宗之櫛風沐雨，勞身焦思，用黃鉞白旗者五年，而天下始一。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     初，高祖太宗之栉风沐雨，劳身焦思，用黄钺白旗者五年，而天下始一。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 751, 杜甫 (Du Fu),《朝享太廟賦》, translated by Stephen Owen

     Chū, Gāozǔ Tàizōng zhī zhì fēng mù yǔ, láo shēn jiāo sī, yòng huángyuè báiqí zhě wǔnián, ér tiānxià shǐ yī. [Pinyin]

     At first Gaozu and Taizong had their hair combed by the wind and washed by the rain, put forth bodily effort and brooded fervently, they employed the yellow halberd and white banner for five years, and then the land was unified.

櫛(しっ)風(ぷう)沐(もく)雨(う) • (shippūmokū) 

1. (idiomatic) to work out in the wind and rain

• “^▲櫛風^▲沐雨”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025