Hey everyone, welcome back to the ancient Chinese Story blog. I apologize for not updating in almost a month but school is harsh. Today’s ancient Chinese tale is more a satire which is short but fun. The story is a rather old one from what I know, but it was also taught to children so that way the kids would not behave in such a rude manner. Today’s ancient Chinese tale I myself shall translate from the Chinese text into English. My version of the text is modern Chinese and comes from my textbook which my Chinese 203 and 204 textbook.
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Once upon a time there was a county magistrate, he felt that he was very smart. One day, he said to his chai yi, (a type of errand runner) “I will give you guys 3 days time, you guys need to go out and find 3 foolish people, and then bring them back to my place.” On the first day, they found no one. On the second day, they saw a man riding a horse, and in his hand he was carrying a very big suitcase.
They went over to the man and asked him, “You are riding a horse, why do you still carry your own suitcase?” That man replied, “I am riding the horse, and it is already very tired, and if it also had to carry the suitcase, wouldn’t that make it even heavier?” The chai yi heard this and were extremely happy: they found their first fool. And so they left with him. The third day they went to the city entrance and saw a man with bamboo entering the city. The gates were small and his bamboo were very long; at first he carried them vertically, and he couldn’t get in, then he tried it horizontally, but still couldn’t get in. He get very frustrated. After that, he cut thyem in half and only then could he enter the city. The chai yi saw this and found their second fool. They left with him afterward.
On the 4th day, the chai yi brought the two men to the county magistrate to meet. They told him the two fools stories. The county magistrate heard this, laughing at the second fool said, “You’re such an idiot! Why not just throw the bamboo over the wall?” The chai yi heard this and snapped back, “we found our third fool.” The county magistrate looked all around and confused said, “here there are only two people, where’s the third one?” The chai yi replied, “the third fool is you.”
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You can see why this ancient story was used to teach kids. The moral here is not to be so prideful and arrogant. It can also show us that everyone, no matter what their status, still can have their faults. Very satirical, but good Chinese tale to learn a lesson from. Alright guys, I will keep this wrap up short. No picture today alas, I didn’t see anything that would fit. Till the next ancient Chinese story everyone. May we all learn and live in joy.
