Idiom Explanation:
Kua chases the sun. It refers to the ambition of conquering nature, strong will, and also refers to doing things beyond one’s strength.
Pronunciation:
夸父逐日
kuā fù zhú rì
Origin:
《山海经·海外北经》：“夸父与日逐走，入日。渴欲得饮，饮于河渭，河渭不足，北饮大泽。未至，道渴而死。弃其杖，化为邓林。”
Story:
In ancient times, there was a high mountain in the northern wilderness, and deep in the mountain forest, there lived a group of giants with great strength. Their leader had two golden snakes hanging from his ears and two golden snakes in his hands, and his name was Kwafu, so this group of people was called the Kwafu tribe. The Kwafus were kind-hearted, hard-working and brave, and lived a life of freedom and contentment with the world.
One year, the weather was very hot, the hot sun shone directly on the earth, the trees were scorched, the rivers were dried up. People were so hot that they could not stand it, and people of the Kwafu tribe were dying. The leader, Kwaito, was so sad that he looked up at the sun and told his people: “The sun is so hateful! I must catch up with the sun, catch it, and make it obey the command of man.” The clansmen listened to him and discouraged him. Some said, “You must not go, the sun is so far away from us, you will die of exhaustion.” Some said, “The sun is so hot, you will be baked to death.” But Kwaito was determined. He looked at his people who were in great distress and said, “For the sake of everyone’s happiness, I must go!”
Kwaito bade farewell to his clan and took a big step in the direction of the rising sun, chasing after it like the wind. The sun was moving fast in the air, and Kwaito was running desperately on the ground. He passed through a big mountain, crossed a river, the earth was shaken by his footsteps “boom” sound, swaying back and forth. When he was tired of running, he shook the earth from his shoes onto the ground, and a big mountain of earth was formed on the ground. When he was cooking, he picked three rocks to set up the pot, and the three rocks became three mountains standing on their feet, which were several thousand meters high.
Kwafu kept running after the sun, seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the sun, and his confidence was getting stronger and stronger. Finally, Kwaito caught up with the sun at the place where it was setting. A bright red ball of fire was right in front of Kwafu’s eyes, and ten thousand golden rays bathed him. Quaifu opened his arms with immense joy and tried to hold the sun. But the sun was so hot that Kwafu felt thirsty and tired. He ran to the Yellow River and drank up its water in one gulp, then he ran to the Wei River and drank up its water, but it still did not quench his thirst. Kwafu ran northward again, where there was a great swamp spanning thousands of miles, and the water in the swamp was enough to quench Kwafu’s thirst. But before he could reach the Great Swamp, he died of thirst halfway.
When Kwafu was dying, his heart was full of regret, and he was still concerned about his people, so he threw his wooden staff out of his hand. The place where the wooden staff landed, a lush peach forest suddenly emerged. This peach forest is lush all year round, shade for the passers-by, fresh peaches to quench people’s thirst, so that people can eliminate fatigue, full of energy to embark on the journey.
Similar Idioms:
- 燃眉之急
