Chinese Fable

愚公移山🔊

Yú Gōng Yí Shān
📚 Fables⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This fable celebrates perseverance and determination in the face of great obstacles.

The Story 🔊

Gǔ shíhou yǒu gè jiào Yúgōng de lǎorén
古时候Gǔ shíhou🔊有个yǒu gè🔊jiào🔊愚公的Yúgōng de🔊老人lǎorén🔊
Tā jiā ménqián yǒu liǎng zuò dà shān chūxíng hěn bù fāngbiàn
他家Tā jiā🔊门前ménqián🔊yǒu🔊两座liǎng zuò🔊大山dà shān🔊出行chūxíng🔊很不方便hěn bù fāngbiàn🔊
Yúgōng juédìng bǎ shān yí zǒu
愚公Yúgōng🔊决定juédìng🔊把山bǎ shān🔊移走yí zǒu🔊
Tā dàilǐng quán jiā rén yìqǐ wā shān
🔊带领dàilǐng🔊全家人quán jiā rén🔊一起yìqǐ🔊挖山wā shān🔊
Línjū Zhìsǒu cháoxiào tā nǐ zhème lǎo le zěnme kěnéng yí zǒu dà shān
邻居Línjū🔊智叟Zhìsǒu🔊嘲笑他cháoxiào tā🔊🔊这么老了zhème lǎo le🔊怎么可能zěnme kěnéng🔊移走yí zǒu🔊大山dà shān🔊
Yúgōng shuō wǒ sǐ le hái yǒu érzi érzi sǐ le hái yǒu sūnzi zǐzǐsūnsūn wúqióng wújìn
愚公Yúgōng🔊shuō🔊我死了wǒ sǐ le🔊还有hái yǒu🔊儿子érzi🔊儿子死了érzi sǐ le🔊还有hái yǒu🔊孙子sūnzi🔊子子孙孙zǐzǐsūnsūn🔊无穷无尽wúqióng wújìn🔊
Tiāndì bèi Yúgōng de jīngshén gǎndòng pài shénxiān bǎ shān yí zǒu le
天帝Tiāndì🔊bèi🔊愚公的Yúgōng de🔊精神jīngshén🔊感动gǎndòng🔊pài🔊神仙shénxiān🔊把山bǎ shān🔊移走了yí zǒu le🔊
English Translation:
In ancient times, there was an old man named Yugong. Two big mountains stood in front of his house, making travel very difficult. Yugong decided to move the mountains. He led his whole family to dig. His neighbor Zhisou mocked him: "You're so old, how can you move mountains?" Yugong said: "When I die, my sons will continue. When my sons die, my grandsons will continue. Generations are endless." The Emperor of Heaven was moved by Yugong's perseverance and sent gods to move the mountains.

Key Vocabulary

愚公移山
yú gōng yí shān
perseverance conquers all
大山
dà shān
mountain
dig
嘲笑
cháoxiào
mock
精神
jīngshén
spirit
感动
gǎndòng
moved

The Moral

Perseverance conquers all! With enough determination, even the most difficult tasks can be accomplished.

Cultural Insight

愚公移山 comes from "Liezi" (列子). It is one of the most famous Chinese fables about determination.