Yugong Yishan (¿¿¿¿) is a fable essay created by the Chinese philosopher Liezi (¿¿, 450 AD-375 AD) during the Warring States Period (¿¿¿¿). The Warring States period was an era of great social change, as well as a period of controversy among academic scholars. As an important part of Zhuzi's prose (¿¿¿¿), the fable was a powerful weapon for the Warring States to clarify their political views and academic thoughts. The fable narrates the story of an old man named Yugong, who is almost 90 years old, and lives directly opposite the mountain. Suffering from the obstruction in the northern part of the mountainous area, he tried to dig up the steep mountain to make a road leading to the southern part. When the mountain god (¿¿) learnt about Yugong's resolve, he was afraid that Yugong would dig the mountain endlessly. Therefore, the mountain god reported his concerns to the Emperor of Heaven (¿¿). However, the Emperor was moved by Yugong's sincerity, hardship, and perseverance. Subsequently, the Emperor ordered the obstructive mountains to be removed. From this time, there was no high mountain barrier for Yugong.
The Book Has 9 Chapters In The Following Order:Chapter 1: Day After Day, Year After Year (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿)Chapter 2: In the Dream (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿)Chapter 3: Wish to Go to the Mountain (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 4: Never Felt So Young (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 5: Someone Will Laugh at You (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 6: Means vs. Ends (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 7: A Better Future (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 8: Perseverance (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)Chapter 9: There Used to Be a Mountain (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿) The current book volume, Chinese Short Stories 12, is a Level 1 Chinese reading practice book. It would introduce you to the famous Chinese fable essay, Yugong Yishan (¿¿¿¿). The 12th volume in the Selected Chinese Short Story Series (¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿) includes both the Chinese text (simplified characters) and pinyin Romanization. With over 500 unique Chinese characters, the volume would be suitable for the beginners, lower intermediate and advanced level Chinese language learners (HSK 1-6). Overall, the reading series offers you a variety of elementary level books (Level 1/2/3/4/5/6) to understand China as well as practice Chinese reading fast.