The Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains
The foolish old man who removed the mountains in front of his home is a story of perseverance. This story is recorded in the ancient book of Lie Zi and is told to just about every Chinese.
"愚公移山" tells a story of a old man called Yu Gong (愚公, yúgōng) who inconveniently had two big mountains in front of his house. One day he gathered his family and said: "The two mountains have given us so much trouble, how about we move them away?" His children and grandchildren all agreed except his wife. She said: "You are foolish, with your strength you cannot even move a small hill, let alone move such big mountains. And where can we dispose of the stones and earth from these mountains?" After consideration, it was decided that the stones and earth would be dumped into the sea.
The work began the next day and the family only had hoes and baskets to work with; but none of the hardships and difficulties could stop the determined family. They worked on the mountains every day.
One day, a wise man named Zhi Sou (智叟, ZhìSǒu) happened to see the family attempting to move the mountains. He was amused and asked Yu Gong, "You are old, how do you expect to move the mountains?" Yu Gong replied, "Yes, I am old and I will soon die, but I have children, and when my children are dead, there are still my grandchildren. My family will grow and grow and the mountain will get smaller and smaller. With such determination, surely it is possible to move the mountains!"
So Yu Gong and his family carried on with their work day after day and year after year; through hot summer to cold winter until one day, the Gods in heaven was moved by their perseverance and sent two immortals to take the two mountains away.
The moral of the story is that many tasks appear unachievable but with determination anything can be achieved.
Note: some of you might think why the old man didn’t just simply move his family to a more convenient location. Later generations have debated over this question and even essays have been written about this topic. One explanation is that the concept of home in Chinese culture is extremely important and one does not move his home unless lives are at stake. Another explanation is that the old man is foolish and that's why he didn't pick the easier task; but conveniently, his story told later generations to be persistent at doing anything.
