The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountains

A Chinese folktale exhibits that ambition and effort make everything possible.

Once upon a time, there were two huge mountains lying directly in front of the Foolish Old Man’s house. Because of the mountain, the Foolish Old Man had to take a long detour whenever he went out from his house. To eliminate this inconvenience, he led his sons and grandsons to gradually chip away the mountains. Despite receiving jeers from the Wise Old Man, they did not give up. The Wise Old Man laughed at the Foolish Old Man and tried to stop him, saying, “You’re really too foolish! With a little time and a little strength that you have, you wouldn’t even be able to detach a tree on the mountains. How can you possibly move all the soil and rocks?” The Foolish Old Man heaved a long sigh and said, “You are so pigheaded! Even widows and orphans know better. It is true that I will die before I accomplish my goal, but my sons will survive and they will have sons. Then their sons will have sons, and those sons will also have sons. They will have endless sons and grandsons, but these two mountains will grow no higher. Why can’t they be removed?”

If everyone has the determination of the Foolish Old Man, we can move mountains; if we have the ambition of Jingwei, it will not be hard to fill in the ocean. (Cai E, A Call for Donations to the Army)

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Chinese Manuscript

从前有位叫愚公的老人，他家门前有两座大山。因为山挡在门口，所以出门时候要绕很多的弯路。为了不受大山阻隔，他终年率子孙凿山移石，遭智叟嘲笑而不放弃 河曲智叟嘲笑并阻止愚公说：“你太不聪明了!就凭你在这世上最后的几年和剩下的这点儿力气，还不能毁掉山上的一根草木，能把这大山的土石怎么样呢?”北山愚公长叹了一口气说：“你的脑子太顽固，顽固得不开窍，连寡妇、孤儿都比不上。即使我死了，还有我儿子在呀；儿子又生孙子，孙子又生儿子；儿子又有儿子，儿子又有孙子；子子孙孙永无穷尽，可是这两座山却不会再增高了，还愁什么挖不平呢?”

各奋愚公之愿，即可移山；共怀精卫之心，不难填海。 （蔡锷《劝捐军资文》）（大家如果都立下愚公那样的志向，就可以搬走大山；人们都怀抱精卫那样的雄心，填平大海也不再困难。）