# Chinese Fables and Folk Stories/The Two Mountains

THE TWO MOUNTAINS
兩大山
The Kwung-Lun Mountain is very high—ten thousand feet or more. Most of the time his head is covered with the clouds and, since he was born, no man has ever found the way to climb where he might look in the face ​of the great Kwung-Lun. And the eagles and the San-Chi birds live always with him.
One day Kwung-Lun spoke to the Tai-San Mountain who lived near, and said, "I am the highest mountain in the world. I am the steepest and most honorable of all the mountains here. The farmers come to me; from the morning until the evening sun they come and cut the great rocks from my base. And from the earliest light, until the darkness gathers about my head, the birds sing for me. I have the San-Chi birds. They wear the most beautiful feather in the world. It shines in the sun and has a different glory for the moon. Man gives more gold for this than for any other feather that is on the earth. The San-Chi is mine. I feed him and he lives always with me.
"Yesterday, a teacher and his scholars came here and I heard him tell them this story about Confucius:—" 'One day, Confucius was talking to the young King Loa-Bai, and he asked the king, "Have you ever been to the Kwung-Lun Mountain?" And the ​king answered, "No." Then Confucius showed him a beautiful fan made of feathers from the San-Chi birds. "Did you ever see feathers like these?" he asked.
" ' "I am a king and I have seen many things," said the young king, "but never have I beheld colors of such wondrous beauty. I will give you one thousand pieces of silver if you will bring me a fan like this one."
" 'And Confucius answered, "If I can persuade you to do one thing that I desire greatly I will give you the fan, for I should not like to sell it. I could not well take silver in exchange for it, as it was given to my honored ancestor, my great-great-grandfather. But as I have said, if you will take my advice concerning a certain matter, you shall have the fan."
" ' "I will be advised by you," said the young king. "What do you wish me to do? "
" ' "You are a king of great strength," said Confucius. "You have more soldiers than any other king. But if you were a lion, you would not kill all the other animals in the wilderness to show your great strength. Or, if you were the greatest fish in the waters, you would not swallow all the weaker fish."
​" 'The young king answered, "No, I would not! If I were a lion, I would let all the weaker creatures dance before me in happiness and safety."
" ' "You are a strong, great king," said Confucius. "Other kingdoms are weaker than your own. Their kings do not wish to fight, unless they must. If you will take my advice and will not force them to war for six years, you shall have many gifts from these kingdoms. You shall have this wonderful fan made of the feathers from one hundred and twenty San-Chi birds, and gold and ivory, with beautiful carving; and you shall have gems of many colors and battle-horses and bears' feet. If you will be advised by me, the other nations will give you these things."
" ' "How soon shall I have these things?" the young king asked.
" ' "In one year," Confucius replied, "you shall have them. I must have time to go again to the rulers of these kingdoms."
" 'So the king agreed to do as Confucius desired; and Confucius said, "I now give you my fan, and if in one year it is as I say, the fan is yours. But if you begin warring with any other nation in that time, you must return the gift to me."
" 'Then Confucius went to see the rulers of the ​weaker kingdoms, and four gave promises of peace and sent gifts to the young king. But one of the kings would not give tribute, neither would he say when he would begin war.
" 'When a year had almost passed, the young king reported to Confucius, "Four kings only have sent me gifts. Does the other nation wish war, or will its king send me a gift as the others have done?"
" ' "Will you not take my fan as a gift from me, and let the small weak nation go?" said Confucius.
" 'Then the king became very angry. He tore his long robe and said, "I will swallow up the nation that is my enemy. We will have war now."
" ' "The year of your promise is not yet gone," said Confucius. "If you do that, you must return the priceless fan." And the young king gave Confucius his fan and went away.
" 'The king gave his general the order to make ready for war. But in a few hours he repented of what he had done, for he prized the fan of Confucius above all gold or jewels, and he ordered his general to cease preparing for battle. And he further ordered that a Jeh-Shung—good talker—be sent with this message to Confucius.
" ' "I, the king, am sick at heart. I wish you to come to me and bring with you the fan which I prize ​above all gems. I will not battle with the weaker kingdom."
" ' "I have important work and can not come to-day," answered Confucius, "but in one more day I will see the king."
" 'Then the king was very happy again, for his heart was set on possessing the fan.
" 'When the next day came, the king sent the most honorable chair (carried by eight men), and went himself to meet Confucius, who held in his hand the priceless fan, for well he knew the heart of the young king.
" 'And when he drew near, the king could not see Confucius. He saw only the sparkling colors of the fan he so desired. And Confucius said, "I thought you were going to destroy the weaker nation. Why do you wish me to come here?"
" 'Then the king bowed to Confucius and said, "I am in the wrong. I have thought deeply about this, and I will take your advice and keep peace. Now, will you give me the fan?"
" ' "No, you are not to have the fan on the agreement which you broke, for when you sent me away you prepared to make war on the weaker nation," said Confucius.
" 'And the young King fell with his face to the ground and his attendants came to care for him.
​" ' "If you will make a new agreement," said Confucius, "and promise that you will never be the first to go to war, I will give you this fan that you so desire."
" 'The young king made the agreement. And the fan was given him by Confucius. And the king said to himself, "This fan is more than many kingdoms to me. In all the world of man, there is nothing else so beautiful. My heart has desired above all things this wonderful fan of the San-Chi feathers and the rare carving." ' "
When the Kwung-Lun Mountain had told this story to the Tai-San Mountain, he said, "Although I have the San-Chi birds, the most beautiful of all creation, yet it is to me a strange thing that a thousand and a thousand people bow their heads and worship you, while I stand here and am hardly noticed.
"You give no great thing to the people. You have no beauty. You are not tall and grand. Your head is not higher than the clouds. You can not see the dark and secret caves of the thunder, and the hidden places of the beginning of the storm. You never gave feathers, more beautiful even than flowers, to a king. Why do the people worship you instead of me? The hunter ​comes to me and the farmer takes my stones, but they forget me, the giver. Now, tell me truly, why do people love and worship you instead of me?"
And the Tai-San Mountain answered, "I will tell you why. You are very haughty. You are stiff and stony and proud, from your base to your summit. Your nature is not kind. The children can not play in your lap. In the summer time when the people come for the fruit and grain harvest, you give them nothing; and they can not come to you to choose the San-Da. It hurts their feet to walk among your rocks and stones. No one can visit you. You do not welcome them. How can they worship you?
"I am lower and of a gentler nature. The birds come to me to make their nests, and people always gather about me in the summer time. My heart is open and every one knows me well and loves me."
Ee-Sze (Meaning): The proud and the gentle live in the world together. But the gentle and loving have happiness that the proud can not understand.
* ↑ San Chi:—A large and beautiful mountain bird with one feather of rarest loveliness. This feather is blue, of a peculiar iridescence, and some of its long, curly fronds are white. The Chinese are superstitious about this feather and think it has healing qualities. They sometimes trap the San-Chi bird and pull its one beautiful feather, letting the bird go free. It is six years, the hunters say, until the lost feather is replaced. The San-Chi is very long lived, and its feathers are greatly valued for fans.
* ↑ At that time several nations were at war, and Confucius went to the king of each nation, trying to persuade him that it was better to be at peace. He went to the young King Loa-Bai first, as his was the strongest of the kingdoms.
* ↑ Bears' feet are considered a great delicacy by the Chinese.