A frog inhabiting a crumbling well boasted to an ocean turtle: “Behold my paradise! I leap upon mossy ledges, bathe in sun-warmed waters, rest in crevices — no creature rivals my joy! Would you not enter my domain?”
(more…)Category: Fables
Ancient Chinese Fables, Legends, Stories, Tales
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The duke’s fatal hospitality
A sea-gull alighted in a suburb of the capital of Lu. The Marquis of Lu welcomed it and feasted it in the temple hall, ordering the royal music and grandest sacrifices for it.
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The ointment for chapped hands
A family in the state of Song made an excellent ointment for chapped hands; so for generations they engaged in laundering. A man who heard of this offered a hundred pieces of gold for their recipe.
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The Roc and the Sparrow: A Fable of Perspective
There was once a bird called the roc, whose back was as vast as Mount Tai and whose wings were like clouds that overspread the heavens. When it wheeled up into the air a whirlwind arose, and in each flight it covered ninety thousand Ii, soaring above the misty vapours under the azure sky. Once it was flying southwards to the Southern Ocean.
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The greed that cost him everything
It is said that in the state of Qi, there lived a man named Dongguo Chang, whose greed knew no bounds. He constantly dreamed of amassing a great fortune—ten thousand taels of gold.
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Lord Ye’s dragon love: A fearful encounter
Lord Ye was famously fond of dragons. He had dragons carved on his walls, dragons painted on his pillars, and dragons engraved on every vessel in his house. Even his robes and curtains bore intricate dragon patterns.
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The acorn trick: Fooling the monkeys
A monkey-trainer in the state of Song was fond of monkeys and kept a great many of them. He was able to understand them and they would please him.
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