The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains
E1007692
"The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains" is a famous Chinese fable, often attributed to the philosopher Liezi, that teaches perseverance and determination through the story of an old man who resolves to move two great mountains despite his age and limitations.
Statements (41)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Chinese fable
ⓘ
didactic tale ⓘ moral story ⓘ |
| appearsIn | Liezi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Daoist philosophy ⓘ |
| attributedTo | Liezi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralObstacle | two great mountains ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | China ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance |
often cited in speeches and writings to encourage perseverance
ⓘ
widely taught to children in Chinese-speaking communities ⓘ |
| didacticFunction |
challenging short-term thinking
ⓘ
encouraging resilience in the face of hardship ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
foolish old man
ⓘ
heavenly beings ⓘ old man’s family ⓘ skeptical neighbor ⓘ |
| genre | Chinese classical literature ⓘ |
| hasChineseTitle | 愚公移山 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influenced | modern Chinese political rhetoric ⓘ |
| moral | Persistent effort can overcome great obstacles ⓘ |
| moralCategory |
optimism about human effort
ⓘ
virtue of perseverance ⓘ |
| narrativeType | allegory ⓘ |
| originalLanguage | Classical Chinese ⓘ |
| plotSummary | An old man decides to remove two mountains blocking his village by digging them away bit by bit with the help of his family ⓘ |
| referencedBy | Mao Zedong NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept | Chinese idiom 愚公移山 ⓘ |
| resolution | The gods are moved by the old man’s perseverance and order the mountains to be removed ⓘ |
| setting | rural Chinese village ⓘ |
| symbolizes |
overcoming seemingly impossible tasks
ⓘ
power of persistence ⓘ |
| teaches |
collective effort
ⓘ
determination ⓘ patience ⓘ perseverance ⓘ |
| theme |
faith in long-term effort
ⓘ
human will versus natural obstacles ⓘ intergenerational continuity ⓘ |
| timePerspective | multi-generational effort ⓘ |
| titleTranslation | Yu Gong Moves the Mountains NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedAs | proverbial reference in Chinese culture ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.