点铁成金

to touch base matter and turn it to gold (idiom); fig. to turn crude writing into a literary gem

point / dot / drop / speck / o'clock / point (in space or time) / to draw a dot / to check on a list / to choose / to order (food in a restaurant) / to touch briefly / to hint / to light / to ignite / to pour a liquid drop by drop / (old) one fifth of a two-hour watch 更[geng1] / dot stroke in Chinese characters / classifier for items

surname Tie

iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang)

surname Cheng

to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth

surname Jin / surname Kim (Korean) / Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115-1234)

gold / chemical element Au / generic term for lustrous and ductile metals / money / golden / highly respected / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[ba1 yin1]