愚公移山 — “To be persistent and resolute in achieving a seemingly impossible goal”

Legend has it that in ancient times, there were two great mountains, one called Taihang and the other Wangwu. An old man named Yu Gong, nearly 90 years old, lived on the north side of these mountains. Every time he went out, he had to make a long detour to reach the south, as his path was blocked by these two mountains.

One day, he gathered his whole family and said, 'I plan to work with all of you, using our lifelong efforts to remove Taihang Mountain and Wangwu Mountain, and build a grand road leading to the south. What do you say?' Everyone agreed, but Yu Gong's wife raised a question: 'Our combined strength isn't enough to move even a small hill, so how can we possibly move Taihang and Wangwu? And where would we put all the excavated earth and stones?' After discussion, they decided that the excavated earth and stones could be dumped into the sea in the east and at the northernmost reaches.

The next morning, Yu Gong led his sons and grandsons to start digging. Although the family didn't dig much each day, they persisted. They only returned home when the seasons changed.

An old man named Zhi Sou (Wise Old Man), upon learning of this, specifically came to advise Yu Gong, saying, 'What you're doing is very foolish. With your limited strength, how can you possibly level these two mountains?' Yu Gong replied, 'You are so stubborn, simply beyond reasoning! Even if I die, I still have my sons. When my sons die, there will be grandsons, and grandsons will have children, and their children will have sons. Our descendants are endless, but the mountains will not grow any taller. Why can't they be leveled?'

At that time, the Mountain God, seeing Yu Gong and his family digging relentlessly, reported the matter to the Jade Emperor. Moved by Yu Gong's spirit, the Jade Emperor sent two mighty gods down to earth who carried the two mountains away. From then on, there were no longer high mountains obstructing the path.