– by Lie Yukou (Liezi)
Mount Taihang and Mount Wangwu spanned seven hundred li in area and rose ten thousand ‘ren’ high. Originally, they stood south of Jizhou and north of Heyang.
To the north of these mountains lived an old man known as “Foolish Old Man of the North Mountain.” He was nearly ninety years old and faced the mountains from his home. Frustrated by the blocked northern passage – forcing long detours for travel – he gathered his family and proposed: “Let us all unite our strength to level these mountains, carving a direct road southward through Yuzhou all the way to the southern bank of the Han River. What do you say?” Everyone agreed enthusiastically.
But his wife raised doubts: “With your strength, you can’t even reduce a small hill like Kuifu – how can you possibly move Taihang and Wangwu? And where would you even put all the earth and stones?”
They replied: “We’ll dump them at the edge of the Bohai Sea, north of Yintu.”
So the old man led his sons and grandsons – three able-bodied men carrying hoes and baskets – to chip away at rocks and dig up soil, hauling it in baskets all the way to the Bohai Sea. A widow from a neighboring household, whose young son had just begun to lose his baby teeth, eagerly jumped in to help. Season after season, year after year, they made only one round trip.
An old wise man from the bend of the Yellow River laughed and tried to stop him: “You’re utterly foolish! In your feeble old age, you can’t even scrape off a single blade of grass from the mountain – how can you deal with all that earth and rock?”
The Foolish Old Man sighed deeply and said: “Your mind is stubborn – so stubborn it cannot be penetrated. You’re not even as open-minded as that widow’s little boy. Even if I die, I have sons; they will have sons, who will have sons of their own; those sons will bear more sons, and so on. My descendants will never run out – but these mountains will not grow any higher. Why should I fear they cannot be leveled?”
The wise old man had no reply.
The Mountain God, who carries serpents, heard of this and feared the old man would never stop. He reported it to the Heavenly Emperor. Moved by the old man’s sincerity, the Emperor commanded the two sons of Kuae to carry the mountains away – one placed in the east of Shuo, the other in the south of Yong.
From then on, there were no more ridges or barriers between southern Jizhou and the southern bank of the Han River.
Note
The story comes from a Daoist text called the Liezi, named after its attributed author, Lie Yukou (c. 400 BCE).
Very little is known for certain about Lie Yukou as a historical figure, and scholars believe the book was likely compiled by multiple authors over time. However, he is traditionally regarded as a great Daoist philosopher who lived during the Warring States period.
Liezi was an important inheritor of the Daoist school, positioned between Laozi and Zhuangzi. Pre-Qin Daoism was founded by Laozi (author of the great book – Dao De Jing), developed by Liezi, and brought to completion by Zhuangzi. His thoughts and doctrines are recorded in the book Liezi.
The Liezi is a collection of stories and parables that explore Daoist themes of simplicity, spontaneity, and harmony with the natural world. “Yu Gong Moves the Mountains” is one of its most enduring tales.
《愚公移山》先秦：列御寇
太行、王屋二山，方七百里，高万仞。本在冀州之南，河阳之北。
北山愚公者，年且九十，面山而居。惩山北之塞，出入之迂也。聚室而谋曰：“吾与汝毕力平险，指通豫南，达于汉阴，可乎？”杂然相许。其妻献疑曰：“以君之力，曾不能损魁父之丘，如太行、王屋何？且焉置土石？”杂曰：“投诸渤海之尾，隐土之北。”遂率子孙荷担者三夫，叩石垦壤，箕畚运于渤海之尾。邻人京城氏之孀妻有遗男，始龀，跳往助之。寒暑易节，始一反焉。
河曲智叟笑而止之曰：“甚矣，汝之不惠。以残年余力，曾不能毁山之一毛，其如土石何？”北山愚公长息曰：“汝心之固，固不可彻，曾不若孀妻弱子。虽我之死，有子存焉；子又生孙，孙又生子；子又有子，子又有孙；子子孙孙无穷匮也，而山不加增，何苦而不平？”河曲智叟亡以应。
操蛇之神闻之，惧其不已也，告之于帝。帝感其诚，命夸娥氏二子负二山，一厝朔东，一厝雍南。自此，冀之南，汉之阴，无陇断焉。
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