Most of china’s traditional fables to be reflected were created centuries ago and are still in vogue today because they are ideal vehicles for transmitting values, from generation to generation, in a very didactic way.
Almost all these fables are about the rural world. They refer to life in the countryside and values such as work, humility and respect, most have as reference to kings, sages and ordinary men.
- However.
- Although they are very old.
- Most of them have a teaching that can be applied in today’s life.
- So today we bring three traditional Chinese fables with enriching morality.
“From the top of reason, the story seems like a fable. “- Theodore Simon Jouffroy-
The first of china’s fables says there was a hard-working man in a peasant village, he had fertile land but he was constrained by a serious problem: he had no wells, the water was a long way from his territory and that made it very difficult.
Every night he had to walk more than three kilometers to reach the nearest well, he returned very late, at dawn, with bowls full of water, this allowed him to cover his basic needs and feed the earth, but it was very difficult. exhausting. His neighbors did not help him.
Tired of the situation, the man decided to dig a well, it was a very difficult job for one person, but he had no choice, spent more than a month working on this task and finally finished it: now he had a well. where clean, fresh water came from. A curious neighbor asked him about his work. The farmer replied, “I dug a well and found a man in the background. “
The news spread rapidly in the village. This caused such turmoil that the king of these lands sent for the peasant to explain what happened. “My lord, ” he said. Before I had the well, my arms were always busy transporting and bringing water. Now my arms are free to work on earth, and have I recovered the man I am?
The second of china’s fables says there was a small town somewhere far from Earth. There was a slightly greedy man who lived in relative harmony with his family. He has successfully harvested, although he has never been satisfied with what he has achieved.
On one occasion I planted the seeds in the soil with special care, I wanted to get a harvest of a wheat seed from distant lands that I had received as a gift, they assured me that it was a superior wheat, with larger cobs and a wonderful taste, so man occupied all his land with this culture and began to make great plans for the future , was very greedy and thought that, who knows, I could even buy more land and live with more luxury.
However, weeks pass and the seeds do not bloom, there were some buds, but despite the care they grew very slowly, seeing this, the man began to despair. He couldn’t wait that long, so he decided to do something. His idea was to root out the small plants that were born, he thought it would help them grow.
The next morning, however, all the outbreaks died. The man forgot that it was a special seed and that it took a little longer to grow. I didn’t know that everything has its time and that changing the processes of nature only leads to failure.
There was a kingdom in which a noble and wise prince lived, the third of our Chinese fables tells us that harmony reigned in these lands, everyone loved their leaders and always responded with just laws and help for everyone to prosper. Special ritual: every time it was New Year’s Eve, the peasants gave the prince doves.
At that moment, a stranger passed by. The stranger was curious to know what this strange ritual consisted of, he could see how people from all over the world came in with pigeons for the prince, stayed there for a while, for he was really intrigued to know what the prince was doing with this special gift. That’s when he pressed the moment when the prince gathered all the pigeons in a cage and then eded them. Those present clapped and whistled.
However, at that moment, an old man made his way through the crowd and respectfully asked permission to speak, the prince listened attentively. The old man asked him how many pigeons he had managed to gather, and the prince said about 200.
The old man then said: “To bring you these 200 pigeons, the men went hunting and killed 600. What credit do you have for freeing those who stayed alive?”The prince understood his mistake and forbade the ritual. lesson learned in these lands.
To be sure, these Chinese fables make us think and sometimes invite us to question our world view, society and ourselves in general, we must not forget that the message reaches everyone in a certain way, and that is the power of fables, Chinese or not.