philosophy

共 65 篇文章

文章列表
The True Meaning of Peace | 宁静的真谛

A king must choose between two paintings of peace: one depicts a serene landscape, the other a vi...

inspirational life-lesson parable
3 阅读
The Blade of Grass | 一叶知爱

A teacher uses a metaphor of picking a single blade of grass to teach his student about the searc...

beginner dialogue inspirational
3 阅读
Mastering the Boat | 操舟若神

Confucius explains that mastery in one skill (swimming/diving) fosters a fearless mindset, allowi...

anecdote education life-lesson
3 阅读
Logic vs. Arithmetic | 逻辑与算术

A student's clever response to a math problem highlights the difference between pure calculation ...

critical-thinking education humor
3 阅读
The Philosophical Mouse | 哲学老鼠

A philosophical mouse praises nature for protecting mice, believing bats can restore their race i...

fable ignorance moral-lesson
5 阅读
The Four Wives | 生命中的四位妻子

A parable about a merchant and his four wives reveals an allegory for life's priorities. The stor...

intermediate life-lesson moral-story
4 阅读
Five Unreliable Dependencies | 五不足恃

Marquis Wen of Wei asks if he can rely on virtuous family and ministers to govern well. Gu Juanzi...

ancient-wisdom chinese-culture educational
3 阅读
The Pack-Ass and the Wild Ass | 家驴与野驴

A wild ass initially envies a pack-ass's comfortable life but later observes him suffering under ...

animals fable intermediate
3 阅读
The Wild Hare and the Law | 分定不争

This fable illustrates the chaos caused by undefined ownership and the order brought by clear law...

educational fable governance
3 阅读
The Frog in the Well | 井底之蛙

A frog living in a shallow well boasts of its perfect life to a sea turtle. The turtle describes ...

chinese-culture educational fable
4 阅读
The Horse and the Goat | 鞭马与鞭羊

Mozi uses the analogy of whipping a swift horse versus a goat to explain to his disciple that he ...

ancient-wisdom dialogue education
3 阅读
The Wheelwright's Insight | 轮扁斫轮

A wheelwright argues to Duke Huan that the true essence of skill and wisdom, like his own craft, ...

craftsmanship dialogue education
3 阅读
Lu Ban's Magpie | 鲁班造鹊

Lu Ban, a legendary craftsman, built a mechanical magpie that could fly for days. However, Mo Zi ...

ancient-story chinese-culture craftsmanship
3 阅读
The Skull's Dream | 髑髅之梦

Zhuangzi dreams of a skull that extols the freedom and eternal peace of death, rejecting any noti...

chinese-literature daoism life-and-death
3 阅读
A White Horse Is Not a Horse | 白马非马

The story of Er Shuo illustrates the gap between abstract philosophical debate and practical real...

anecdote chinese-culture educational
3 阅读
The Man Who Feared the Sky Would Fall | 杞人忧天

A man from Qi was consumed by irrational fears that the sky would fall and the earth would sink. ...

anxiety beginner chinese-culture
3 阅读
The Hook Forger | 锤钩者

An elderly blacksmith explains to a minister that his lifelong mastery of forging waistband hooks...

craftsmanship focus inspirational
3 阅读
Going South by Driving North | 南辕北辙

A man traveling in the wrong direction believes his superior resources will help, but they only t...

chinese-idiom culture educational
3 阅读
A Father's Equanimity | 子死不忧

A Wei state man, Dong Menwu, remains calm after his son's death, explaining to his puzzled servan...

chinese-literature intermediate life-lesson
6 阅读
The Unguent of Song | 不皲之药

Hui Zi destroys a giant gourd he finds useless. Zhuang Zi responds with a parable about a family ...

chinese-literature life-lesson parable
3 阅读