夸父追日　(kuà fù zhuī rì)

Kuafu Chases the Sun

A long time ago, a giant called Kuafu, a descendant of the God of Earth, was living on a high mountain in the northern area.

Kuafu was very tall and extremely strong. He always dangled two yellow snakes on his ears to make himself look menacing. But actually he was a kindhearted and diligent creature.

One day he saw people living at the foot of the mountain crying in their parched fields because the scorching sun had brought a serious drought that destroyed all the crops. So Kuafu decided to chase and capture the sun and force it to behave in a way that would bring good crop harvests for people every year.

The next day as the sun was emerging out of the East Sea, Kuafu, armed with a walking stick, began to run after the star.

He ran very fast and his long legs could cross a wide river with a single stride. Meanwhile the sun, sitting in a chariot drawn by six dragons, was also moving very quickly across the sky.

After running thousands of kilometers, Kuafu was very close to the sun as it began to sink in the west. Kuafu was very excited and opened his arms in an attempt to embrace the sun. But he could not reach it.

Kuafu felt excruciatingly hot at that moment and his body was burning with thirst. When he could no longer stand it anymore, he ran to the Yellow River and began to drink the water. After just a few swigs, he drank dry one of the longest rivers on the planet.

However, it was still far from enough to quench his insatiable thirst so he ran to the Weihe River and also drank it dry.

Still not satisfied, Kuafu rushed toward a large lake. But before reaching it he collapsed and fell to the ground with a huge, deafening thud. He died of extreme heat and exhaustion.

After his death, his giant body turned into a high mountain called “Kuafu Mountain” which, as the legend goes, is now the Qin Mountain between today’s Henan and Shaanxi provinces in China. And the walking stick that Kuafu threw away when he fell later grew into a large forest of beautiful peach trees.

The forest flourishes all year round and provides shade and juicy fruit to quench the thirst of passers-by and working people.

Obviously Kuafu overextended himself and as a result he failed to reach his goal. But his good intention, unyielding endeavor and personal sacrifice had moved the God of Earth.

The God later chastised the sun for its willful behavior and ordered it to bring favorable climates to people on earth.

After that, those living at the foot of the high mountain in the north where Kuafu once lived have enjoyed centuries of mild and favorable weather, bringing them warmth in the winter and bumper harvests in autumn.