Jingwei Fills the Sea | 精卫填海

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Jingwei Fills the Sea

Once upon a time, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, the legendary ruler of ancient China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose and capsized her boat. Just before she was swallowed by the waves, her spirit transformed into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring sea, it cried sadly, "Jingwei, Jingwei." That is why people called it Jingwei.

The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew back and forth between the mountain and the sea, carrying a twig or a pebble in its beak and dropping it into the water.

One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, "Poor little bird, stop this meaningless task! You will never fill me up."

Jingwei replied, "I will fill you up without a doubt! I will, even if it takes me thousands of years! I will fight on until the end of time!"

The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without rest.

From this fable comes the idiom "Jingwei Fills the Sea." It is used to describe people who are firm, indomitable, and will not stop until they achieve their goal.

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