Yu Gong Moves the Mountains《愚公移山》

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Taihang and Wangwu, two towering mountains, standing like two massive walls across the south of Jizhou and the north of Heyang. At the foot of the northern mountain lived an elderly man named Yu Gong, who was nearly ninety years old. His hair and beard were completely white, yet he remained hale and hearty.

For generations, his family had resided facing the mountains. The mountains blocked the path of travel, making it extremely difficult to climb over ridges and valleys. Yu Gong had long cherished the idea of removing these two mountains.

One day, Yu Gong gathered all his family members and shared his plan: “These two mountains are a great hindrance. Let's work together to dig them up and open a road to Yunan and the Hanshui River. What do you think?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, except his wife, who expressed some concerns: “You're already so old. You can't even dig up a small hill, so how can you hope to move Taihang and Wangwu? Moreover, where will we dispose of all the soil and rocks we dig up?” After discussion, the family decided to carry the soil and stones to the end of the Bohai Sea and the north of Yintu.

Early the next morning, Yu Gong led three of his strong sons and grandsons, carrying hoes and bamboo baskets, to the foot of the mountain and began chiseling rocks and digging soil. They loaded the excavated stones and earth into the bamboo baskets and carried them step by step toward the Bohai Sea. A round trip took nearly half a year.

There was a seven-year-old boy from neighborhood, hearing about the mountain-moving project, ran over happily to help. Though he was not very strong, he imitated the adults by picking up small stones and filling baskets with soil, only returning home once the seasons changed.

A man heard about this, came to mock Yu Gong: “You're truly foolish! At such an advanced age, you can't even pull out a blade of grass from the mountain, yet you want to dig up these huge mountains? It's simply a pipe dream!”

Yu Gong sighed, and said: “You are extremely stubborn. You are not even as sensible as that boy. Though I am old and will sooner or later pass away, my sons will live on. My sons will have their own sons, who will in turn have grandsons. Generation after generation, my family will go on endlessly. But these two mountains will never grow taller or wider. Someday, we will surely dig them flat!”

Day after day, year after year, Yu Gong's family persisted in digging the mountains without interruption. Deeply moved by Yu Gong's sincerity and perseverance, the Jade Emperor ordered other immortals to carry the two mountains away. From then on, there were no longer any mountain barriers between the south of Jizhou and the north of the Hanshui River, and people could travel smoothly without hindrance.

译文：

《愚公移山》

太行、王屋两座大山，像两道巨墙横亘在冀州之南、河阳之北。北山脚下住着一位名叫愚公的老人，年近九十，头发胡子全白了，却精神矍铄。

他家世代面山而居，大山挡住了出行的道路，翻山越岭十分艰难，愚公心里早已盘算着要把这两座山移走。

一日，愚公召集全家老小，说出了自己的想法：“这两座大山太碍事了，咱们一起努力把它们挖平，打通通往豫南、汉水的路，你们看怎么样？”

家人纷纷点头赞同，唯有妻子有些担忧：“你年纪都这么大了，连小山丘都挖不动，怎么能撼动太行、王屋这样的大山呢？而且挖出来的土石往哪儿放啊？”众人商议后决定，把土石运到渤海之尾、隐土之北。

第二天一早，愚公就带领三个能挑担子的子孙，扛着锄头、拿着箕畚，来到山脚下开始凿石挖土。他们把挖出来的石头和泥土装进竹筐，挑着担子一步步往渤海赶，来回一趟就要大半年。

邻居有个七岁的男孩，听说要移山，蹦蹦跳跳地跑来帮忙，他力气不大，却学着大人的样子捡小石子、装泥土，每次都要等到换季才回家。

有人听说了这件事，赶来嘲笑愚公：“你真是太愚蠢了！都这么大年纪了，连山上的草木都拔不动，还想挖平大山？简直是白日做梦！”

愚公叹了口气说：“你这个人思想太顽固，还不如那个小孩清楚事理。我虽然老了，迟早会去世，但我的儿子还在，儿子又生孙子，孙子又生儿子，子子孙孙无穷无尽，而这两座山却不会再长高长大，总有一天我们能把它们挖平！”

愚公一家日复一日、年复一年地坚持挖山，从不停歇。天帝被愚公的诚心和毅力深深打动，便下令让其他神仙把两座大山背走。从此，冀州之南到汉水之北再也没有山陵阻隔，人们出行畅通无阻。

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

有志者事竟成。

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