Tag Archives: wisdom

Taiwanese story: Yu Gong and the Two Mountains

Nationality: Taiwanese
Primary Language: Taiwanese/Mandarin
Age: 76
Occupation: Retired, former teacher
Residence: Taipei, Taiwan
Performance Date: 24 March 2024

Tags: wisdom, mountains, hard work, perseverance, Jade Emperor

Text:

Once upon a time, there was an elderly man living between two mountains. The mountains were big enough that it would take multiple days and nights to navigate them, making them incredibly inconvenient for the old man and his family. One day, the man decided to remove the mountains to make life easier for him and his family, much to the bewilderment of his wife and others. The old man and his sons began to chip away at the mountain, dumping the dirt and stones in the Bohai Bay, working tirelessly each day. Others laughed at their attempts and called the old man “Yu Gong” (dumb geezer, approx.). There was another old man around whom others called “Zhi Shou” (smart man, approx.) who also started belittling Yu Gong, telling him to give up since he was too old to ever hope to finish moving the mountains. Yu Gong retorted that even if he withered away and died, his sons and those sons’ sons would continue his work, since the mountain couldn’t do anything but shrink and shrink throughout the years. The Jade Emperor happened to hear this conversation, and, touched by Yu Gong’s determination and spirit, ordered two of his own men to help Yu Gong move the mountains. The Jade Emperor’s men moved the mountains with ease in an instant, and Yu Gong’s family celebrated.

Context:

C. is a born and raised Taiwanese citizen, and has told her fair share of stories to her children and grandchildren alike. Interestingly enough, in contrast to the stories of Hou Yi and Yu Gong, this was a story not told to me until pretty recently. When I inquired about this, C. simply said she forgot.

Analysis:

I have never personally heard this story until recently, but it does hold up as a traditional aesop that one would tell their children and such to learn the importance of perseverance and determination. Perhaps it is because the other two stories (Hou Yi and Chang E) are more deeply ingrained into Asian society due to their connections with festivals, and this story of Yu Gong is simply a cautionary tale.

欲速則不達: “Want speed, then no achieving”

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Yù sù zé bù dá

Translation: “Want speed, then no achieving”

Background: Y is a 21-year-old college student from Taiwan who is navigating her new life in Los Angeles, California. Having grown up in and gone to school in Taiwan, she is incredibly familiar with Taiwanese folklore and culture.

Context: Y recalls hearing this proverb from her parents, teachers, and coaches in Taiwan. She says it means if you try to accomplish something quickly, you can fail badly.

Analysis: This is a proverb that came from the Analects of Confucius. It means that working towards something at a fast and unreasonable pace will inevitably lead to failure. It suggests that taking your time and being wise with your decision-making will ultimately lead to success. The proverb demonstrates the central role and influence of Confucian philosophy in Taiwanese culture, as it serves to provide a focus on personal morality and wise attitudes toward life. The proverb also reflects the need for and importance of reaching some ultimate end goal. This proverb is similar to the proverbs: “Haste makes waste” and “Slow and steady wins the race”

Chinese Pear Story

Nationality: American with Chinese descent
Age: 22
Occupation: Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/2/19
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Context:  

The informant and I are sitting on my bed in my room. It is about 9:00 pm and she is describing to me some of the stories she heard growing up that impacted her life and viewpoint.

Body:

Informant: “So the story was that there was a huge bowl of pears in the dining room table and there’s a little girl and she was the middle child and there’s like an older brother and a younger brother, I don’t think the gender matters. Then a friend came up to the little girl and asked her which pear she was going to get. The little girl ended up grabbing the smallest pear possible in that bowl. Then when the friend asked the little girl why she picked the smallest pear, she replied saying she was going to give a pear bigger than hers to her younger brother. When asked why, she explained how he has yet to experience the good things in life and that in order to know the good things in life he has to at least experience them once. So that’s why he’s experiencing the big pear first so that he knows that’s a good thing. Then she’s going to give a larger pear to both her parents and her brother because they’re older than her out of respect. Then the elders are the most respected and the leaders of the family, and giving them a larger pear is also kind of signifying like they don’t have as much life left to live and so we should be giving the riches of life to them because they don’t have as much time left. Kind of morbid in all honesty.

A: “How did this story affect your life growing up?

Informant: “Oh yeah it had a huge impact on me! Growing up, it’s one of the only stories that I remember from my Chinese book. I actually just asked my mom if she remembered any stories and she said ‘no’ and then when I told her that I remembered the pear story, she still didn’t remember that one. Then I explained it to her and asked her again if she remembered and she said ‘no.’ But that’s always impacted me because I feel that I’ve always tried to prioritize my parents a little bit more in the sense where I did have to respect them because they are my parents. Also, because I wanted to give them things more so because I knew that they wouldn’t have the chance to experience them again like I may have or I will be able to

A: “Was there any significance with the pear and why the pear was the fruit given?”

Informant: I think often times a pear is a symbol of royalty. Ya know how apples are associated with knowledge and giving that to teachers? I think the pear is a symbol of royalty and nobility. Especially in Asian cultures because I feel like everything is a pear versus an apple in Asian cultures.  

TakeAways:

Within Chinese culture, respecting your elders is one of the most important things. I think what this story is trying to tell children is to always respect those who are older than you because they have more wisdom and also to cherish them. This story also teaches children the joys of sharing with others and giving more to others than yourself. This is therefore then instilling children not to be selfish and care for others since you should want them to experience the best in life as well. Children’s stories play a large role in shaping who they are to become as they learn through examples. This story clearly had a large impact on the informant and has reigned true to present day.

 

Mexican Elderly Idiom

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: Middle-Aged
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“The second one is, umm… More knows the devil, because he’s old, than to be a devil. Do you want me to tell you in Spanish? ‘Mas el diablo por viejo que por diablo.’ ”

 

And in what context would you say that? Like, what would you say that in reference to?

 

“Umm, that, uhh, we need to pay attention to the old people. That the old people is, is they know the way and we need to listen to them.”

 

Analysis: Another short and sweet proverb, this one celebrates old age in a very tongue-in-cheek sort of way. The proverb proclaims that the Devil knows more about being the Devil from simply living into old age than by being the Devil in the first place. In other words, this proverb would seem to reveal that, in rural Mexican culture, learned wisdom gleaned through experience is superior to natural-born intellect. This would suggest a deference to rural elders and a suspicion of up-and-comer types in the informant’s culture.

“Locks don’t keep robbers from stealing. Locks keep honest men from making mistakes”

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 21 2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Title: “Locks don’t keep robbers from stealing. Locks keep honest men from making mistakes.”

Interviewee: Armando Vildosola

Ethnicity: Mexican-American

Age: 21

Situation (Location, ambience, gathering of people?): Just me and my older brother Armando, as I asked him to share his most important pieces of wisdom that our family has shared throughout the generations. We do this every so often as some way to strengthen the bonds that we have as brothers, something of a brother meeting or a brotherly bonding session. We are sitting in our home in San Diego around our dinner table, having just finished dinner. Out house is full of family walking about visiting from Mexico. We are both on spring break from school at USC.

Piece of Folklore:

Interviewee- “Our Grandpa used to say, “Locks don’t keep robbers from stealing. Locks keep honest men from making mistakes.””

Interviewer- “Do you really like that proverb?”

Interviewee- “Of course! That is why I told you it! That’s why I always tell you that. I think it’s really important to us and to our family. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for other people to hear this too.”

Interviewer- “Do you remember when you first heard that proverb?”

Interviewee- “Not exactly the first time no. I kind-of just learned it cause grandpa said it so much.”

Analyzation: Everything about this made sense to me personally because I had heard this being said in our family many times. This proverb that was perhaps started by my Grandfather embodies my family’s views on people in the world. There are people that do evil things, and there is little that one can do to stop them from being evil. What one can do however, is make sure that an honest man stays honest. This saying is extremely important to my family, and that is mostly due to the hardships that my family has faced. That can be said for a lot of proverbs floating around. They are usually born from experience, and usually a painful one. They are born in the hopes that future generations will not have to feel the pain that past generations felt. In this case, do what you can to make sure people stay honest, but don’t expect a simple lock to keep robbers away. You need more, you need to expect them to be clever. One must always see ahead and ensure that bad things don’t happen to their family. My older brother obviously values this, and wants to make sure that I take it to heart and use it throughout my life. Because at the end of the day, the Vildosola family is the only real family we have.

Tags: Locks, Proverbs, Wisdom, Honesty