愚 公 移 山

Where there's a will, there's a way

Ever since he was a child, the 90-year-old Yugong would open the front door of his home, look at what lay ahead, and then go “ARRGH!”

He lived to the north of the Taihang and Wangwu mountains, which were situated near the Yellow River in Henan Province. Whenever Yugong and his family wanted to travel south, it was a long, circuitous, and arduous journey because the mountains blocked their way.

One day, Yugong was so fed up that he called a family meeting.

“It's about time we did something about those mountains,” Yugong said, with a fiery look in his eyes. “Let's work together to get rid of them!”

Everyone in the room clapped and cheered — apart from Yugong's wife. “Hey, foolish old man,” she said. “You can’t even level a small mound, let alone a large mountain range. And where will you dispose of the soil and rocks?”

“Easy!” her eldest son exclaimed. “We will dump them in the sea.” His entire family cheered again, thinking that was a good idea too.

From morning to night, Yugong led his children and grandchildren in the slow, backbreaking work of

chipping away at the mountains. An elderly neighbour stopped by to watch them at work. He walked over to

Yugong and gave a little chuckle while shaking his head.

“You're as daft as a brush,” the neighbour said. “It will never happen in your lifetime.”

The defiant Yugong replied: “You're the ignorant one. When I'm gone, my sons will continue the

job, then my grandchildren will keep removing the mountains, and then my great-grandchildren

too, and so on for many generations to come. The mountains won't grow any higher and will be

gone… eventually!”

The neighbour responded by shaking his head.

The mountain gods heard every word of their conversation and were greatly alarmed, so they went to see the Heavenly Emperor and told him everything.

“It would have been much easier to move his home,” the mountain gods stated, “but this crazy, old fool wants to destroy our mountains even if it takes them hundreds of years and a long line of descendants to do so.”

Much to the mountain gods' surprise, the Heavenly Emperor was deeply moved by Yugong's unwavering determination. He decided to reward the old man by ordering two giants to remove the mountains.

A few days later, Yugong opened his front door, saw the Yellow River lay ahead of him, and for the first time in his life, he said, “Ahhhh!”

愚公移山

Literal meaning

the foolish old man removes the mountains

Figurative meaning

tireless efforts to achieve one's goals; or inefficient efforts

Similar phrase in English

where there's a will, there's a way

e.g. They said it was impossible, but I can now touch my nose with my tongue. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Learn about words

1. circuitous adj. : indirect or not straight

2. arduous adj. : difficult and requiring great effort

3. level v. : to make a surface flat or even

4. defiant adj. : openly resisting to do what someone tells you to do

Learn some phrases

1. chip away at something

to slowly destroy or breaking small pieces off something

e.g. The workers keep chipping away at the wall to remove it.

2. daft as a brush

stupid or foolish

e.g. Jo is as daft as a brush. She thinks meatballs are grown on trees.(序)

Welcome once again to the Chinese Idiom Stories: The Magic Four series. We want to show you that Chinese idioms are magical! If you are still not sure, here is an example of when you might want to use them.

Imagine you are playing a video game with your friends but you keep losing. You want to bury your head in the sand, hoping the embarrassment will go away if you close your eyes and block your ears. That does not work, so you decide to throw in the towel.

But where is the sand you want to bury your head in? In fact, this is an example of figurative language. Instead of saying you want to avoid an unpleasant situation by pretending it does not exist, you can use colourful imagery and actions to make the description memorable. The same goes for “throw in the towel”, which means to quit because you know you cannot succeed. The origin of this idiom comes from boxing trainers literally throwing a towel in the boxing ring to immediately stop a fight and admit defeat if they see their fighter getting hurt.

You may not be familiar with those two English idioms, but you have probably heard of 掩耳盜鈴 and 半途而廢 to express the same ideas respectively. These Chinese idioms consist of only four characters, but they conjure up stories of a foolish burglar with blocked earholes attempting to smash a bronze bell and of a tough wife berating her weak-willed husband for quitting his studies and coming home early. So much can be told with so little.

The theme for Chinese Idiom Stories: The Magic Four 2 is attitude and behaviour. By reading these stories, you will gain a deeper understanding of Chinese wisdom accumulated over the centuries. The modern world is vastly different to imperial China, but universal truths will always remain. Just like the plays of William Shakespeare, stories that teach us about the human condition will always remain relevant and timeless, and these idiom stories have proven they will never die out or go out of fashion.

Catherine Chan, Simon Lau & William Ma

愚 公 移 山

Where there's a will, there's a way

Ever since he was a child, the 90-year-old Yugong would open the front door of his home, look at what lay ahead, and then go “ARRGH!”

He lived to the north of the Taihang and Wangwu mountains, which were situated near the Yellow River in Henan Province. Whenever Yugong and his family wanted to travel south, it was a long, circuitous, and arduous journey because the mountains blocked their way.

One day, Yugong was so fed up that he called a fam...

A contradiction in terms
自相矛盾
Run counter to the correct route
南轅北轍
Blow hot and cold
朝三暮四
No sound, no problem!
掩耳盜鈴
The copycat walker
邯鄲學步
Not letting nature take its course
揠苗助長
Set in one’s ways
刻舟求劍
Riding on the coattails of virtuosos
濫竽充數
Give a brick, get jade back
拋磚引玉
A pale imitation of a beauty
東施效顰
Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted
臨渴掘井
Throw in the towel
半途而廢
If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything
鐵杵成針
To have a clear picture in one's mind
胸有成竹
Not rest on your laurels
百尺竿頭
It's all in your mind
杯弓蛇影
Delusions of grandeur
夜郎自大
Party like you just don't care
樂不思蜀
Where there's a will, there's a way
愚公移山
Groundless worries
杞人憂天
Index

A contradiction in terms
自相矛盾
Run counter to the correct route
南轅北轍
Blow hot and cold
朝三暮四
No sound, no problem!
掩耳盜鈴
The copycat walker
邯鄲學步
Not letting nature take its course
揠苗助長
Set in one’s ways
刻舟求劍
Riding on the coattails of virtuosos
濫竽充數
Give a brick, get jade back
拋磚引玉
A pale imitation of a beauty
東施效顰
Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted
臨渴掘井
Throw in the towel
半途而廢
If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything...