In ancient times, between southern Jizhou and northern Heyang, stood two colossal mountains—Mount Taihang and Mount Wangwu—each spanning seven hundred li and towering ten thousand zhang high.
In the northern mountains lived a man nearly ninety years old, known as Foolish Old Man. Every time he left home, the towering peaks blocked his path, forcing him to take a long detour just to reach the southern lands of Yuzhou and the Han River.
One day, he gathered the whole family to discuss, saying, "I will join all of you in using our lifelong efforts to move the two great mountains, Taihang and Wangwu, and build a road straight to Yuzhou and the Han River. What do you say?"
Everyone voiced their approval. But the Foolish Old Man's wife raised a doubt: "With your strength, you can't even move a small hill, so what can you do with the two great mountains, Taihang and Wangwu? Besides, where will you put all the soil and rocks you dig up?"
Everyone chimed in, "Just dump the dirt and rocks along the eastern Bohai Sea coast or the farthest northern lands, and that'll do."
The next morning at dawn, Foolish Old Man led his sons and grandsons to begin digging the mountains. They chiseled with picks, hacked with hoes, loaded the dirt and rocks into bamboo baskets and wicker pans, then carried load after load all the way to the shores of the Bohai Sea.
The Foolish Old Man leading his family to move mountains moved many people. A widow's orphan, just seven or eight years old, also came to the construction site to help. The Foolish Old Man and his team worked tirelessly, returning home only when the seasons changed.
At the bend of the Yellow River lived a wise old man named Zhisou. Hearing of Yugong's plan to move the mountains, he came specifically to stop him, saying, "This is far too foolish. With your limited strength in these final years, you cannot even damage a hair of the mountain, so what can you do with all this earth and rock?"
The Foolish Old Man of the Northern Mountain let out a long sigh and replied, "You are stubborn beyond reason, even less sensible than a widow and her child. When I die, my son will carry on. When he dies, his grandson will continue. Grandsons beget sons, sons beget grandsons—generation after generation without end. Yet the mountains will never grow taller. Why can't we level them?"
Zhisou, unable to argue his point, fell silent.
The local mountain god, witnessing Yugong's relentless digging, reported to the Heavenly Emperor. Moved by Yugong's sincerity, the Emperor sent two mighty deities to carry away the Taihang and Wangwu mountains. From then on, no mountains blocked the path.
The Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains is a fable reflecting the ancient Chinese people's determination to conquer nature and overcome obstacles. It later became a metaphor for unwavering resolve, grand ambition, and the belief that where there's a will, there's a way.
Source: *Liezi*, Chapter "Tang Wen"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "愚公移山" came to describe how unwavering resolve and grand ambition can overcome any obstacle.