Chinese and Foreign Folk Tales - (New Curriculum Standards)

Author: Pan Chenjing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Moving Mountains for the Sake of People
About four or five thousand years ago, during the reign of Emperor Yao, frequent floods occurred.
There was a man named Pu'an, who, following Emperor Yao's orders, selected skilled craftsmen to build houses. From then on, people all over the world had places to live and no longer had to endure life exposed to wind, sun, and rain.
The houses at that time were similar to those of today, with doors, windows, walls, and beams. Due to frequent floods, mud walls were easily collapsed by the force of the water. If a house collapsed, the people inside might be buried under the ruins, and their property would also suffer losses.
When witnessing the collapse of houses and the desperate escape of the people, Pu'an felt extremely heartbroken.
Thus, he decided to seek help from the Supreme Lord Lao. Pu'an ascended to the Doushuang Palace, where the Supreme Lord Lao resided, only to find him busy refining elixirs.
As soon as he saw the Supreme Lord Lao, Pu'an knelt down and bowed, pleading, “Supreme Lord Lao, you are always kind and compassionate, helping people with a warm heart. Now, floods frequently occur in the human world, causing houses to collapse and forcing people to leave their homes. You cannot ignore this matter!”
The Supreme Lord Lao, still engrossed in his work, said without raising his head, “I don’t have time to deal with this! Moreover, these matters are not under my jurisdiction.”
Pu'an quickly bowed in reply, saying, “Please help us find a solution to this problem for the people!”
Seeing Pu'an’s sincere concern for the well-being of all, the Supreme Lord Lao told him, “Build walls with stones, and you won’t have to worry about them being washed away by water.”
Pu'an asked, “All the stones are on the mountains, so we must go there to quarry them. It’s easy to do near the mountains, but the plains also have countless common people who need sturdy and secure houses. Please help them!”
The Supreme Lord Lao thought for a moment. Yes, how could the people on the plains find so many stones? Then, looking at the alchemy furnace, he suddenly had an idea and came up with a solution. He said, “Since floods harm people, let’s use fire to overcome them. Take the earth from the ground, burn it into bricks, and then build walls with these bricks. This way, you won’t have to worry about the floods’ impact and destruction.”