Chengyu Story: Mr. Fool Wants to Move the Mountain

The idiom 愚公移山 (yú ɡōnɡ yí shān) literally means “Mr. Fool (愚公) wants to move (移) the mountain (山)”. The story tells us: with persistence and determination, any difficulties, even big ones can be solved. Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

Once upon a time, there were two large mountains – Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain, which sat in front of an old man Yu’s house. Because the mountains blocked the way, the Yu’s families had to walk many extra miles in order to go out. One day, Yu called together the whole family to discuss removing the mountains. His wife shook her head and said:“Where are we going to put the earth and sand we dug out?” The others said:“We can dump it in the sea.”

The next day in the early morning, Yu began digging the mountain with his families. An old man called Zhi Sou saw them working and laughed: “Mr. Fool, you’re so old and weak. Why do you want to remove the mountains? You won’t be able to remove it even before you die!” Yu smiled and said: ”Your mind is so stubborn and old. If I die, there will be my sons. Sons will have grandsons and grandsons will have sons. There will be no end, but the mountain will not grow. As time goes on, the mountains will be removed one day!” Zhi Sou said nothing and left.

 

How to use 愚公移山:

 

遇到再大的困难,我们都要有愚公移山的精神。

(yùdào zàidàde kùnnán, wǒmen dōu yàoyǒu yúɡōnɡyíshān de jīnɡshén)

However big the difficulty is, we should have the spirit of “Mr. Fool”.

 

因为有愚公移山的精神,中国的青藏铁路才能够修筑成功。

(yīnwèi yǒu yúɡōnɡyíshānde jīnɡshén, zhōnɡɡuóde qīnɡzànɡtiělù cái nénɡɡòu xiūzhù chénɡɡōnɡ)

Qinghai-Tibet Railway can’t be constructed without the spirit of “Mr. Fool”.


Post time: Jul-22-2020