The Chu Man and the Boat | 楚人操舟

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A man from the state of Chu learned to steer a boat from an experienced boatman.

At first, he followed the boatman's instructions meticulously, whether to go forward or backward, turn left or right.

One day, he tried steering the boat himself in a slow current and found he could do it with ease. Confident in his new skill, he dismissed the boatman and steered the boat directly into a rip current. When the boat lost control in a vortex, the man looked around in panic, scared out of his wits. Not only was the oar lost, but the rudder was also carried away by the current.

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