Miracle Method of China 10: The best Chinese medicinal recipes are offered for health Sesame to strengthen the liver In a glass of water, boil 5 teaspoons (25 g) of sesame seeds and 50 g of rice for a quarter of an hour. Then this mixture is eaten once a day for 2 weeks, which strengthens the liver and

Introduction The subject of this study is the so-called “Taoist yoga”, already familiar to modern reader a term that, however, requires some clarification, because it would be more correct to classify it as “internal alchemy” (nei dan) or, more precisely, as Taoist

Chinese principles of proper nutrition Principle 1. How much to eat Chinese medicine prescribes moderation in nutrition. Overeating is harmful, it is better to limit yourself, it is enough to eat 70–80% of what you could

Parables And the Blessed One thought: “I have taught the truth, which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent in the end; it is excellent and glorious in letter and spirit. But although it is simple, people cannot understand it. I must speak to them in their own language. I

Once upon a time there was a woman, and she had a lover. One night their husband found them. He killed his lover and ran away. The woman immediately boiled the corpse, made a stew out of it, and fed it to the pigs. That's how it all worked out. After some time, the husband returned and was surprised to learn that the matter remained without consequences...
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Cow with cut off tongue

In Tanchangxian County, the peasant Hu Si had a cow. And she was just like a “household jewel”: to plow the field - on it, to carry luggage - again on it. And every morning Hu Si himself fed and watered her.

One day Hu Si went to feed the cow, and lo and behold, everything in the stall was upside down. I looked more closely: blood was dripping from the cow’s mouth...
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Scientist and peasant

One peasant worked in his field all his life. One day he noticed that his crops were withering away, and carried fertilizer to the field. A scientist was walking towards him; he walked in his beautiful clothes, raising his head and not noticing anything around him - and he ran into a peasant. Smelly fertilizer poured right onto him. Both began to swear and demand compensation for damages. They argued and argued, came to nothing and went to the judge...
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Quality, not quantity

One high Chinese official had an only son. He grew up as a smart boy, but he was restless, and no matter what they tried to teach him, he showed no diligence in anything, and his knowledge was only superficial. He knew how to draw and play the flute, but artlessly; studied the laws, but even the scribes knew more than him...
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Why does a person need memory?

One official was appointed judge. He sat down in the hall and began to sort out the court case. The plaintiff and the accused began to present their arguments.

There is a Tibetan proverb: every adversity can become an opportunity. Even tragedy contains opportunities. The meaning of another Tibetan proverb is that the true nature of happiness can only be seen in the light of painful experience. Only a sharp contrast with painful experiences teaches you to appreciate moments of joy. Why - the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu explain in The Book of Joy. We are publishing an excerpt.

Parable of the Peasant

You never know how our suffering and misfortunes will turn out, what in life is for the better and what for the worse. There is a famous Chinese parable about a peasant whose horse ran away.

The neighbors immediately began to talk about how unlucky he was. And the peasant replied that no one can know: perhaps this is for the best. The horse returned and brought with it an unbroken horse. The neighbors began to gossip again: this time, talking about how lucky the peasant was. But he again replied that no one knows whether this is good or bad. And so the peasant’s son breaks his leg trying to saddle a horse. The neighbors have no doubt: this is a failure!

But again they hear in response that no one knows whether this is for the better or not. The war begins, and all healthy men are drafted into the army, except for the peasant's son, who remains at home due to a bad leg.

Joy in spite of

Many people consider suffering to be bad, the Dalai Lama said. - But in fact, this is an opportunity that fate throws at you. Despite difficulties and torment, a person can maintain firmness and self-control.

The Dalai Lama has been through a lot. And he knows, he says, - .

It is clear what the Dalai Lama means. But how can you stop resisting suffering and perceive it as an opportunity while in the thick of things? It’s easy to talk, but to do... Jinpa mentioned that in Tibetan spiritual teaching“Seven Point Mind Training” identifies three categories of people that you should pay special attention to, since it is with them that particularly difficult relationships develop: family members, teachers and enemies.

"Three objects special attention, three poisons and three roots of virtue." Jinpa explained the meaning of the mysterious and intriguing phrase: “Daily interaction with these three objects of special attention gives birth to three poisons: attachment, anger and delusion. They are the cause of the greatest suffering. But when we begin to interact with family members, teachers and enemies, it will help to comprehend the three roots of virtue - detachment, compassion and wisdom."

Many Tibetans, the Dalai Lama continued, spent years in Chinese labor camps, where they were tortured and forced to practice hard work. Then they admitted that it was a good test of the inner core, showing which of them really strong personality. Some were losing hope. Others did not lose heart. Education had little effect on survival. In the end, it was fortitude and kindness that mattered most.

But I expected to hear that the main thing would be unyielding determination and firmness. With what amazement I learned that people were helped to survive the horror of the camps by fortitude and

If there are no difficulties in life and you are relaxed all the time, then you complain more.

It seems that the secret of joy was born through strange alchemical transformations of mind and matter. The road to joy did not go away from adversity and suffering, but ran through them. As the Archbishop said, without suffering it is impossible to create beauty.

Education by life

People have been convinced more than once that in order to reveal the generosity of the spirit, we must go through humiliation and experience disappointment. You may doubt it, but there are very few people in the world whose lives run smoothly from birth to death. People need education.

What exactly in people requires education?

The natural reaction of a person is to respond blow to blow. But if the spirit has been tempered, it will want to know what forced the other person to hit. So we find ourselves in the shoes of the enemy. It is almost an axiom: those who are generous in spirit have gone through humiliation in order to get rid of the dross.

Get rid of spiritual waste and learn to take the place of another person. In almost all cases, in order to educate the spirit, it is necessary to endure, if not torment, then, in any case, disappointment, to come across an obstacle that prevents you from following the chosen path.

No one strong-willed I have never walked a straight road without obstacles.

“There was always something that made you go off the path and then go back.” - The Archbishop pointed to his thin, weak right hand, paralyzed as a child after contracting polio. A striking example the suffering he experienced as a child.

The spirit is like muscles. If you want to maintain their tone, you need to give the muscles resistance. Then the strength will increase.

Once upon a time there lived a poor peasant. He lived with his young son on the outskirts, and he had one horse, on which he plowed his field. This horse was magnificent - so much so that one day, when the emperor was passing by, he offered the peasant a significant sum for it. But the peasant refused to sell it. That same night the horse galloped away.

The next morning the villagers gathered around our hero and said:

Horrible! How unlucky are you! Now you have neither the horse nor the emperor's money!

The peasant answered:

Maybe it's bad, maybe it's not. I only know that my horse galloped away and I did not receive money from the emperor.

Several days passed, and one morning the magnificent White horse returned, bringing with her six other beautiful, but wild horses, each better than the other, especially if they were broken and trained.

The villagers gathered again and said:

How amazing! How lucky you are! You will soon become very rich!

The peasant replied:

Maybe it's good, maybe it's not. All I know is that my horse came back and brought six other horses with him.

Soon after the horse's return, our peasant's son fell from one of these wild horses and broke both his legs.

The villagers gathered again, and this is what they said this time:

What a grief! You yourself will never ride these horses, and now no one will be able to help you with the harvest, you will go broke, and maybe even starve.

The peasant answered:

Maybe it's bad, maybe it's not. All I know is that my son fell off his horse and broke both legs.

The next day the emperor returned to the village. Now he was leading his warriors into a fierce battle with the army of a neighboring country; he needed new soldiers, most of whom were destined to die. Because of his fractures, no one paid attention to our peasant’s son.

This time the villagers, who were overwhelmed with grief from the loss of their own sons, ran to our hero with the words:

They took pity on your son! Lucky you! It's good that he fell off his horse and broke both legs. He won't die like the rest of the boys from our village.

The peasant answered:

Maybe it's bad, maybe it's not. I only know that my son did not have to follow the emperor to this battle.

Although the story ends here, it is not difficult to imagine that the life of this peasant continued in the same way.

If we behave like the villagers in this story, we risk wasting precious energy searching for the good or something that will counteract the bad. Exactly constant search heights, the joy of achieving which brings only temporary pleasure, leads us to falls.

Let's take economics as an example.

From the book of Yehuda Berg

The text retains the original spelling

The story of how the snake's legs were painted on

IN ancient kingdom Chu there lived an aristocrat. In China there is a custom: after the ritual of remembering ancestors, all those suffering should be treated to sacrificial wine. He did the same. The beggars who gathered near his house agreed: if everyone drinks wine, there won’t be enough of it; and if one person drinks wine, there will be too much for one person. In the end, they made the following decision: the one who draws a snake first will drink the wine.

When one of them drew a snake, he looked around and saw that everyone around him had not finished yet. Then he took a teapot of wine and, pretending to be smug, continued to finish drawing. “Look, I even have time left to paint the snake’s legs,” he exclaimed. While he was drawing the legs, another wrangler finished the drawing. He took away the teapot with the words: “After all, a snake has no legs, so you didn’t draw a snake!” Having said this, he drank the wine in one gulp. So, the one who drew the snake's legs lost the wine that should have been intended for him.

This parable suggests that when completing a task, you need to know all the conditions and see clear goals in front of you. We must strive for our goals with a sober head and a strong will. Don't let an easy victory go to your head.

The story of the jasper of the He family

One day, Bian He, who lived in the kingdom of Chu, found precious jade on Mount Chushan. He presented the jade to a prince from Chu named Li-wan. Li-wan ordered master stone-cutters to determine whether the jade was real or fake. A little time passed, and the answer was received: this is not precious jade, but a simple piece of glass. Li-wan decided that Bian He was planning to deceive him and ordered his left leg to be cut off.

After the death of Li-wan, the throne was inherited by Wu-wan. Bian He again presented the jade to the ruler. And again the same story happened: Wu-wan also considered Bian He a deceiver. So Bian He’s right leg was also cut off.

After Wu-wan, Wen-wan ruled. With jade in his bosom, Bian He groaned at the foot of Mount Chushan for three days. When his tears dried up and drops of blood appeared in his eyes. Having learned about this, Wen Wang sent a servant to ask Bian He: “There are many legless people in the country, why is he crying so desperately?” Bian He replied that he was not at all saddened by the loss of both legs. He explained that the essence of his suffering lies in the fact that in the state, precious jade is no longer jade, but fair man- is no longer an honest person, but a fraudster. Hearing this, Wen-wan ordered the stone cutters to carefully polish the stone, and as a result of polishing and cutting, a jade of rare beauty was obtained, which people began to call jade of the He family.

The author of this parable is Han Fei, a famous ancient Chinese thinker. This story embodies the fate of the author himself. At one time, the ruler did not accept Han Fei's political beliefs. From this parable we can conclude: stone cutters must know what kind of jade they are, and rulers must understand what kind of person is in front of them. People who sacrifice their most precious things for others must be prepared to suffer for it.

The story of how Bian Que treated Tsai Huan-gong

One day famous doctor Bian Que came to visit the ruler Tsai Huan-gong. He examined Hung-gong and said: “I see that you are suffering from a skin disease. If you don’t see a doctor immediately, I’m afraid the disease virus will penetrate deep into the body.” Huan Gong did not pay attention to Bian Que's words. He replied: “I’m fine.” Hearing the prince’s speech, the doctor Bian Que said goodbye to him and left. And Huan-kung explained to those around him that doctors often treat people who do not have any illnesses. Thus, these doctors take credit for themselves and claim awards.

Ten days later, Bian Que visited the prince again. He told Tsai Huan-kung that his illness had already turned into muscles. If he is not treated, the disease will be especially acute. Huan Gong again did not listen to Bian Que. After all, he did not recognize doctors.

Ten days later, during the third meeting with the prince, Bian Que said that the disease had already reached the intestines and stomach. And if the prince continues to persist and does not enter the most difficult phase. But the prince was still indifferent to the doctor’s advice.

Ten days later, when Bian Que saw Tsai Huan-gong in the distance, he fled in fear. The prince sent a servant to him to ask why he fled without saying a word. The doctor replied that at first this skin disease could only be treated with a decoction of medicinal herbs, a warm compress and cauterization. And when the disease reaches the muscles, it can be treated with acupuncture. If the intestines and stomach are infected, they can be treated by drinking a decoction of medicinal herbs. And when the disease passes into the bone marrow, then the patient himself is to blame for everything, and no doctor can help.

Five days after this meeting, the prince felt pain throughout his body. At the same time, he remembered Bian Que’s words. However, the doctor had long since disappeared in an unknown direction.

This story teaches that a person must immediately correct his mistakes and mistakes. And if he persists and dissolves, this leads to disastrous results.

The story of how Zou Ji showed off

The first minister of the kingdom of Qi, named Zou Ji, was very well built and handsome in face. One morning he dressed up in his best clothes and looked in the mirror and asked his wife: “Who do you think is more beautiful, me or Mr. Xu, who lives on the northern outskirts of the city?” The wife replied: “Of course, you, my husband, are much more beautiful than Xu. How can you compare Xu and you?”

And Mr. Xu was a famous handsome man of the Principality of Qi. Zou Ji could not completely trust his wife, so he asked the same question to his concubine. She answered the same way as his wife.

One day later, Zou Ji had a visitor. Zou Ji then asked the guest: “Who do you think is more beautiful, me or Xu?” The guest replied: “Of course, Mr. Zou, you are more beautiful!”

After some time, Zou Ji visited Mr. Xu. He carefully examined Xu's face, figure and gestures. Xu's handsome appearance left a deep impression on Zou Ji. He became convinced that Xu was more beautiful than him. Then he looked at himself in the mirror: “Yes, after all, Xu is much more beautiful than me,” he said thoughtfully.

In the evening in bed, the thought of who was more beautiful did not leave Zou Ji. And then he finally understood why everyone said that he was more beautiful than Xu. After all, his wife curries favor with him, his concubine is afraid of him, and his guest needs help from him.

This parable suggests that a person himself must know his own capabilities. You should not blindly believe the flattering speeches of those who are looking for benefits in relationships and therefore praise you.

A story about a frog who lived in a well

In one well there lived a frog. And she had everything happy life. One day she began to tell a turtle who came to her from the East China Sea about her life: “Here, in the well, I do whatever I want: I can play with sticks on the surface of the water in the well, I can rest in the hole.” , carved into the wall of the well. When I get into the mud, the mud only covers my paws. Look at the crabs and tadpoles, they have a completely different life, they have a hard time living there in the mud. Besides, here in the well I live alone and am my own mistress, I can do what I want. This is simply paradise! Why don’t you want to inspect my house?”

The turtle wanted to go down into the well. But the entrance to the well was too narrow for her shell. Therefore, without ever entering the well, the turtle began to tell the frog about the world: “Look, for example, you consider a thousand miles to be a huge distance, right? But the sea is even bigger! You consider a peak of a thousand li to be the highest, right? But the sea is much deeper! During Yu's reign, there were 9 floods that lasted for a whole decade, but the sea did not get any larger. During the reign of Tang, there were 7 droughts for 8 whole years, and the sea did not decrease. The sea is eternal. It neither increases nor decreases. That’s the joy of life at sea.”

Hearing these words of the turtle, the frog became alarmed. Her big green eyes lost their liveliness, and she felt very small.

This parable suggests that a person should not be complacent and, not knowing the world, stubbornly defend his position.

The parable of the fox who put on airs behind the tiger's back

One day the tiger became very hungry and scoured the entire forest in search of food. Just at that time, on the way he came across a fox. The tiger was already getting ready to have a good meal, and the fox said to him: “You don’t dare eat me. I was sent to earth by the Heavenly Emperor himself. It was he who appointed me the head of the world of animals. If you eat me, you will anger the Heavenly Emperor himself.”

Hearing these words, the tiger began to hesitate. However, his stomach did not stop growling. “What should I do?” thought the tiger. Seeing the tiger's confusion, the fox continued: “You probably think that I am deceiving you? Then follow me, and you will see how all the animals will run away in fear at the sight of me. It would be very strange if it happened otherwise.”

These words seemed reasonable to the tiger, and he followed the fox. And indeed, the animals immediately scattered in different directions at the sight of them. The tiger had no idea that the animals were afraid of him, the tiger, and not the cunning fox. Who is afraid of her?

This parable teaches us that in life we ​​must be able to distinguish between the real and the false. You must be able to not be deluded by external data, but to delve into the essence of things. If you cannot distinguish truth from lies, then it is very possible that you will be deceived by people like this cunning fox.

This fable warns people not to be foolish and put on airs after achieving an easy victory.

Yu Gong moves mountains

"Yu Gong Moves Mountains" is a story that has no basis in real story. It is contained in the book "Le Zi", and the author of which is the philosopher Le Yukou, who lived in the 4th - 5th centuries. BC e.

The story “Yu Gong Moves Mountains” says that in former times there lived an old man named Yu Gong (literally translated as “stupid old man”). In front of his house there were two huge mountains - Taihan and Wangu, which blocked the approaches to his house. It was very inconvenient.

And then one day Yu Gong gathered the whole family and said that the Taihang and Wangu mountains were blocking the approaches to the house. “Do you think we will tear down these two mountains?” - asked the old man.

Yu Gong's sons and grandsons immediately agreed and said: "Let's start work tomorrow!" However, Yu Gong's wife expressed doubts. She said: “We have been living here for several years, so we can continue to live here despite these mountains. Moreover, the mountains are very high, and where will we put the stones and soil taken from the mountains?”

Where to put rocks and soil? After discussion among family members, they decided to throw them into the sea.

The next day, Yu Gong's entire family began to crush the rock with hoes. Neighbor Yu Gong's son also came to help tear down the mountains, although he was not yet eight years old. Their tools were very simple - only hoes and baskets. There was a considerable distance from the mountains to the sea. Therefore, after a month of work, the mountains still looked the same.

There was an old man named Ji Sou (which literally means “smart old man”). Upon learning of this story, he began to ridicule Yu Gong and called him stupid. Zhi Sou said that the mountains are very high and human strength is insignificant, so it is impossible to move these two huge mountains, and Yu Gong's actions are very funny and ridiculous.

Yu Gong replied: “Although the mountains are high, they do not grow, so if I and my sons take a little away from the mountain every day, and then my grandchildren, and then great-grandchildren continue our work, then in the end we will move these mountains!" His words stunned Ji Soo, and he fell silent.

And Yu Gong's family continued to tear down mountains every day. Their persistence touched the heavenly lord, and he sent two fairies to earth, who moved the mountains away from Yu Gong’s house. This ancient legend tells us that if people have a strong will, they will be able to overcome any difficulties and achieve success.

History of Laoshan Taoist

Once upon a time there lived a lazy man named Wang Qi. Although Wang Qi did not know how to do anything, he passionately wanted to learn some kind of magic. Having learned that near the sea, on Mount Laoshan, there lived a Taoist, whom people called “the Taoist from Mount Laoshan,” and that he could perform miracles, Wang Qi decided to become a disciple of this Taoist and ask him to teach the student magic. Therefore, Wang Qi left the family and went to the Laoshan Taoist. Arriving at Mount Laoshan, Wang Qi found the Laoshan Taoist and expressed his request to him. The Taoist realized that Wang Qi was very lazy and refused him. However, Wang Qi asked persistently, and in the end the Taoist agreed to take Wang Qi as his disciple.

Wang Qi thought that he would be able to learn magic very soon and was delighted. The next day, Wang Qi, inspired, hurried to the Taoist. Unexpectedly, the Taoist gave him an ax and ordered him to chop wood. Although Wang Qi did not want to chop wood, he had to do as the Taoist instructed so that he would not refuse to teach him magic. Wang Qi had been chopping wood on the mountain all day and was very tired; He was very unhappy.

A month passed, and Wang Qi kept chopping wood. Working every day as a woodcutter and not learning magic—he couldn’t come to terms with such a life and decided to return home. And it was at that moment that he saw with his own eyes how his teacher - the Laoshan Taoist - showed his ability to create magic. One evening, the Laoshan Taoist was drinking wine with two friends. The Taoist poured wine from the bottle, glass after glass, and the bottle still remained full. Then the Taoist turned his chopsticks into a beauty, who began to sing and dance for the guests, and after the banquet she turned back into chopsticks. All this surprised Wang Qi too much, and he decided to stay on the mountain to learn magic.

Another month passed, and the Laoshan Taoist still did not teach Wang Qi anything. This time, lazy Wang Qi became agitated. He went to the Taoist and said: “I’m already tired of chopping wood. After all, I came here to learn magic and sorcery, and I ask you about this, otherwise I came here in vain.” The Taoist laughed and asked him what magic he wanted to learn. Wang Qi said, “I have often seen you pass through walls; this is the kind of magic I want to learn.” The Taoist laughed again and agreed. He told Wang Qi a spell that could be used to walk through walls, and told Wang Qi to try it. Wang Qi tried and successfully penetrated the wall. He immediately became happy and wished to return home. Before Wang Qi went home, the Laoshan Taoist told him that he needed to be an honest and humble person, otherwise the magic would lose its power.

Wang Qi returned home and boasted to his wife that he could walk through walls. However, his wife did not believe him. Wang Qi began to cast a spell and walked towards the wall. It turned out that he was not able to pass through it. He hit his head on the wall and fell. His wife laughed at him and said: “If there are magic in the world, they cannot be learned in two or three months!” And Wang Qi thought that the Laoshan Taoist had deceived him, and began to scold the holy hermit. It just so happens that Wang Qi still doesn’t know how to do anything.

Mister Dungo and the wolf

The fairy tale “The Fisherman and the Spirit” from the collection is widely known throughout the world. Arabian tales"Thousand and One Nights". In China there is also a moral story about "Teacher Dongguo and the Wolf." This story is known from Dongtian Zhuan; the author of this work is Ma Zhongxi, who lived in the 13th century. , during the Ming Dynasty.

So, there once lived such a pedantic armchair scientist, whose name was teacher (Mr.) Dungo. One day, Dongguo, carrying a bag of books on his back and driving a donkey, went to a place called Zhongshanguo to do his business. On the way, he met a wolf who was being pursued by hunters, and this wolf asked Dungo to save him. Mr. Dungo felt sorry for the wolf and agreed. Dungo told him to curl up in a ball, tied the animal with a rope so that the wolf would fit in the bag and hide there.

As soon as Mr. Dungo stuffed the wolf into the bag, the hunters approached him. They asked if Dungo had seen the wolf and where it ran. Dungo deceived the hunters by saying that the wolf ran in the other direction. The hunters took Mr. Dungo's words on faith and chased the wolf in a different direction. The wolf in the sack heard that the hunters had left, and asked Mr. Dungo to untie him and let him out. Dungo agreed. Suddenly, the wolf jumped out of the bag and attacked Dungo, wanting to eat him. The wolf shouted: "You, a kind person, saved me, however, now I am very hungry, and therefore be kind again and let me eat you." Dungo got scared and began to scold the wolf for his ingratitude. At that moment, a peasant passed by with a hoe on his shoulder. Mr. Dungo stopped the peasant and told him about how it was. He asked the peasant to decide who was right and who was wrong. But the wolf denied the fact that the teacher Dungo thought and said: “I don’t believe both of you, because this bag is too small, to accommodate such a large wolf. I will not believe your words until I see with my own eyes how the wolf fits in this bag." The wolf agreed and curled up again. Mr. Dungo again tied the wolf with a rope and put the animal in the bag. The peasant instantly tied the bag and said to Mr. Dungo: "Wolf will never change his cannibalistic nature. You acted very stupidly to show kindness to the wolf." And the peasant slapped the sack and killed the wolf with a hoe.

When people talk about Mr. Dungo these days, they mean those who are kind to their enemies. And by “Zhongshan wolf” they mean ungrateful people.

“The track is to the south, and the shafts are to the north” (“harness the horse tail first”; “put the cart before the horse”)

During the era of the Warring States (5th - 3rd centuries BC), China was divided into many kingdoms that continuously fought among themselves. Each kingdom had advisors who specifically served to advise the emperor regarding methods and means of government. These advisers, persuasively, knew how to use figurative expressions, comparisons and metaphors, so that the emperors consciously accepted their advice and suggestions. “Harnessing the Horse Tail First” is a story about the advisor of the Wei kingdom, Di Liang. This is what he once came up with to convince Emperor Wei to change his decision.

The Wei Kingdom was stronger than the Zhao Kingdom at that time, so Emperor Wei decided to attack the capital of the Zhao Kingdom, Handan, and subjugate the Zhao Kingdom. Upon learning of this, Di Liang became very worried and decided to convince the emperor to change this decision.

The Emperor of the Wei Kingdom was discussing with his military leaders a plan to attack the Zhao Kingdom when Di Liang suddenly arrived. Di Liang said to the emperor:

Just now on my way here I saw a strange phenomenon...

What? - asked the emperor.

I saw a horse walking north. I asked the man in the cart, “Where are you going? " He replied: “I am going to the kingdom of Chu.” I was surprised: after all, the kingdom of Chu is in the south, and he was going to the north. However, he laughed and didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He said: “I have enough money for the journey, I have good horse and a good driver, so I will still be able to get to Chu.” I just couldn’t understand: money, a good horse and a wonderful driver. But it won't help if he's going in the wrong direction. He will never be able to reach Chu. The further he rode, the more and more he moved away from the kingdom of Chu. However, I was unable to dissuade him from changing direction, and he drove forward.

Hearing Di Liang's words, the Wei Emperor laughed because the man was so stupid. Di Liang continued:

Your Majesty! If you want to become the emperor of these kingdoms, then first you must gain the trust of these countries. And aggression against the Zhao kingdom, which is weaker than our kingdom, will reduce your prestige and remove you from your goal!

Only then did Emperor Wei understand the true meaning of the example given by Di Liang and cancel his aggressive plans against the Zhao kingdom.

Today the phraseological unit “The track is to the south, and the shafts are to the north” means “To enter complete contradiction with a set goal"

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