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愚公移山 (yu2 gong1 yi2 shan1) - Moving mountains
By Zhang Ciyun |
August 8, 2010, Sunday
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According to legend, there was a nonagenarian called the Foolish Old Man, living in Jizhou, in northern China, a long, long time ago.
In front of the old man's house were two high mountains, one called Taihang Mountain and the other Wangwu Mountain.
The two peaks blocked the way to both the nearest town and a major river to the south. To get there, the man and his family had to take long detours or climb the two high mountains.
One day, the old man called a meeting of his whole family and announced a plan to remove the obstacles.
"In order to build a path to the southern area and create a direct route to the Hanshui River, we must get rid of these two mountains," the old man said. "Otherwise, we'll have to face the difficulties forever."
His proposal was readily accepted by all members of the family, who had long been fed up with the inconvenience created by the two mountains.
However, the old man's wife asked hesitantly, "Where can we dispose of the immense amount of earth and stones from the two mountains?"
One of her grandchildren immediately answered, "Don't worry, Grandma. We can throw them into the Bohai Sea."
So, the next morning the whole family got up early and started digging up the two mountains.
It was a hard and tedious job and it took days for the family to just move a small amount of earth and stone to the Bohai Sea.
However, some of the old man's neighbors soon joined the endeavor. Day and night, rain or shine, they never stopped digging.
One day, another gray-beard, called Zhi Sou (the Wise Old Man), stopped by and asked the Foolish Old Man: "Aren't you silly? At your age and with such a small group of people, do you think you can ever clear away these two towering mountains?"
The Foolish Old Man replied, "Why not? I may not live long enough to see the two mountains moved from here, but after I die, my sons will carry on the mission. After my sons die, my grandchildren will continue to dig up the mountains.
"And my grandchildren will have their own sons and grandchildren. At the same time, the two mountains are not likely to grow any higher. So as long as we keep digging, why can't the two mountains be cleared away someday?"
Hearing him, God was moved by the determination of the Foolish Old Man. So one night he sent down two celestials to carry away the two mountains.
As a result, today the land between the southern part of Jizhou and the Hanhui River is a flat plain. There are no mountains in that part of the country to make travel difficult.
In front of the old man's house were two high mountains, one called Taihang Mountain and the other Wangwu Mountain.
The two peaks blocked the way to both the nearest town and a major river to the south. To get there, the man and his family had to take long detours or climb the two high mountains.
One day, the old man called a meeting of his whole family and announced a plan to remove the obstacles.
"In order to build a path to the southern area and create a direct route to the Hanshui River, we must get rid of these two mountains," the old man said. "Otherwise, we'll have to face the difficulties forever."
His proposal was readily accepted by all members of the family, who had long been fed up with the inconvenience created by the two mountains.
However, the old man's wife asked hesitantly, "Where can we dispose of the immense amount of earth and stones from the two mountains?"
One of her grandchildren immediately answered, "Don't worry, Grandma. We can throw them into the Bohai Sea."
So, the next morning the whole family got up early and started digging up the two mountains.
It was a hard and tedious job and it took days for the family to just move a small amount of earth and stone to the Bohai Sea.
However, some of the old man's neighbors soon joined the endeavor. Day and night, rain or shine, they never stopped digging.
One day, another gray-beard, called Zhi Sou (the Wise Old Man), stopped by and asked the Foolish Old Man: "Aren't you silly? At your age and with such a small group of people, do you think you can ever clear away these two towering mountains?"
The Foolish Old Man replied, "Why not? I may not live long enough to see the two mountains moved from here, but after I die, my sons will carry on the mission. After my sons die, my grandchildren will continue to dig up the mountains.
"And my grandchildren will have their own sons and grandchildren. At the same time, the two mountains are not likely to grow any higher. So as long as we keep digging, why can't the two mountains be cleared away someday?"
Hearing him, God was moved by the determination of the Foolish Old Man. So one night he sent down two celestials to carry away the two mountains.
As a result, today the land between the southern part of Jizhou and the Hanhui River is a flat plain. There are no mountains in that part of the country to make travel difficult.
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