Path
Project background/introduction | PDF of the original in Chinese
At one time, during the Warring States period of ancient China, the kingdom of Lu had a crown prince named Qi, which meant “Wonder”. Even as a young child, Prince Qi didn’t care for the opulence and luxury of palace life, preferring to be by himself in the woods outside the palace, observing the plants and animals, contemplating the ways of the universe.
When Prince Qi was 15, he became quite melancholy. Three questions had started to preoccupy him: Why was he born into this world? What is the meaning of his existence? How should he live in order to attain the greatest happiness?
Since he was unable to arrive at any answers on his own, Prince Qi brought his three questions to the wise men around him, the grand vizier and the ministers of the court. To his chagrin, however, they responded that they only knew about matters such as how to serve the king and govern the populace. As to Prince Qi’s three questions, not only did they not have the answers, they had never even considered the questions.
So Prince Qi went to Tai Shan, the highest mountain in the kingdom of Lu. There, he sought out the hermits who dwelled in the mountains in solitary contemplation. When he presented them with his three questions, they responded that, while they have pondered these same questions, they have not been able to attain any insight. Like him, they were at a loss as to the answer.
One day, Prince Qi walked out of the palace alone and ended up on the shore of Bohai Sea. He sat on a rock on the beach, gazing at the vast ocean, sighing.
Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. “My lord, why do you sigh?”
When Prince Qi turned his head, he saw an old man with white hair and silver whiskers standing behind him. The man was holding an oddly bent walking stick with a dragon’s head on the end. He looked at Prince Qi with a kind smile.
“I am sighing because I cannot find the answers to three questions,” replied Prince Qi. “Why was I born into this world? What is the meaning of my existence? How should I live in order to attain the greatest happiness?
“I have asked the grand vizier and the ministers at the palace, and they could not answer me. I have also sought out the hermits on Tai Shan, and they could not answer me. That is why I am here on the shore of Bohai Sea, looking at the ocean and sighing.”
“The destination seems far but is quite near. The object seems obscure but is quite clear,” the old man replied, cryptically, and then said. “Since mere mortals are unable to answer you, why not ask the immortal sages?”
“What immortal sages?” Prince Qi asked, perplexed.
The old man did not answer immediately. He simply raised the dragon-headed walking stick, pointing in the direction of the sunrise. On the horizon where the sea met the sky, Prince Qi could faintly see a tiny silver-white island.
“That is Penglai island,” the old man explained. “The immortal living there will have the answers you seek.”
“But how do I get over there?” asked Prince Qi.
“Oh, don’t you know? That is an enchanted island that drifts with the currents. It moves very slowly, but one day it will drift near this beach.”
Because Prince Qi did not want to risk missing the island, he did not return to the palace. He simply waited on the beach for the enchanted island to arrive.
One day, Penglai Island did indeed drift near the Bohai shore. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to hop onto the island before drifting out to sea again.
When he stepped onto the beach of Penglai Island, Prince Qi immediately noticed that the entire beach was covered in pieces of silver. Not far from where Prince Qi stood, an old fisherman stood in the surf casting his net. As he pulled a net full of silver carp onto the beach, the fish twisted and writhed, but after a few moments, they stopped moving, having turned into individual pieces of silver.
“Young lord, welcome to Penglai Island,” the old fisherman said when he saw Prince Qi. “The silver on this island is yours to take.”
“I am not here for silver. I am here because of three questions,” Prince Qi replied. He then relayed the three questions that had been troubling him, and begged the fisherman to answer them.
“I am familiar with your three questions. However, I do not know how to answer them,” the fisherman replied. He then pointed to a small gold-colored island on the horizon, and continued, “That is Yingzhou Island. It will one day drift by us, and the immortal living on that island will be able to give you an answer.”
So Prince Qi began waiting on the silver beach for Yingzhou Island to arrive. He waited for a long time, and constantly watched the old fisherman struggle with the nets full of fish. He eventually walked over, with some reluctance and hesitation, and began helping the old fisherman in his work. Thus the time passed, day after day, month after month, year after year.
One day, Yingzhou island finally drifted near the silver beach. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to hop onto the island, and then drifted away again.
Prince Qi was astonished to see that the new beach was covered entirely in gold pieces. Only when he walked a little ways inland did he discover an old man herding a flock of phoenixes. The man bent down frequently to pick up the golden eggs that the birds laid as they walked.
“Young man, welcome to Yingzhou Island,” the old herdsman said when he caught sight of Prince Qi. “The gold on this island is yours to take.”
“I am not here for gold. I am here because of three questions,” Prince Qi replied. He then relayed the three questions that had been troubling him, and begged the herdsman for the answer.
“I am familiar with your three questions. However, I do not know how to answer them for you,” the old herdsman replied. He then pointed to a small creamy white island on the horizon, and continued, “That is Fanghu Island. It will one day drift by us, and the immortal on that island will be able to answer you.”
So Prince Qi began waiting on the gold-covered beach for Fanghu Island to arrive. He waited a long time, and often saw the old herdsman in the distance laboriously bending down to collect the golden eggs. He eventually walked back inland to help the old herdsman collect eggs. Thus the time passed, day after day, month after month, year after year.
One day, Fanghu Island finally drifted near the gold-covered beach. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to step onto the island, and then drifted away again.
Prince Qi discovered that this new beach was covered in pearls. The flat ground inland consisted of fields of grain. The grain stalks were bent low, their heads heavy with ripe kernels of pearls. An old farmer stood in a field reaping the sheaves of pearl-stalks.
“Welcome, good sir, to Fanghu Island,” the old farmer said when he caught sight of Prince Qi. “The pearls on this island are yours to take.”
“I am not here for pearls,” Prince Qi replied. “I am here because of three questions.” He then relayed the three questions that had been troubling him, and begged the farmer for the answer.
“I am familiar with your three questions. However, I do not know how to answer them,” the old farmer replied. He then pointed to a small green island on the horizon, and continued, “That is Yuanqiao Island. It will one day drift by us, and the immortal on that island will be able to answer you.”
So Prince Qi began waiting on the pearl-covered beach for Yuanqiao Island to arrive. He waited a long time, and occasionally caught sight of the old farmer bent double, strenuously working the scythe. Out of a sense of pity, he returned to the field to help the old farmer harvest the grain. Thus the time passed, day after day, month after month, year after year.
One day, Yuanqiao Island finally drifted near the pearl-covered beach. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to step onto the island, and then drifted away again.
Prince Qi discovered that this new beach was covered in green jade. The island had a small mountain at its center. Only when Prince Qi walked to the base of the mountain did he find an old miner digging in a hole on the side of the mountain. As he watched, one shovelful after another of jade piled up outside of the mine.
“Welcome, venerable sir, to Yuanqiao Island,” the old miner called when he caught sight of Prince Qi. “The jade on this island is yours to take.”
“I am not here for jade,” Prince Qi replied. “I am here because of three questions.” He then relayed the three questions that had been troubling him, and begged the miner for the answer.
“I am familiar with your three questions. However, I do not know how to answer them,” the old miner replied. He then pointed to a small pink island on the horizon, and continued, “That is Daiyu Island. It will one day drift by us, and the immortal on that island will be able to answer you.”
So Prince Qi began waiting on the jade-covered beach for Daiyu Island to arrive. He waited a long time, and after watching the old miner strenuously digging in the mine day after day, he couldn’t resist the urge to go help the old miner dig. Thus the time passed, day after day, month after month, year after year.
One day, Daiyu Island finally drifted near the jade-covered beach. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to step onto the island, and then drifted away again.
Prince Qi found the new beach covered in peaches of immortality. The flat land farther inland was planted full of peach trees, their branches heavy with clusters of enchanted peaches.
“Welcome, sage sir, to Daiyu Island,” the old orchard keeper called when he saw Prince Qi in the distance. “The enchanted peaches on this island are yours to take.”
“I am not here for immortality,” Prince Qi replied. “I am here because of three questions.” He then relayed the three questions that had been troubling him, and begged the orchard keeper for the answer.
“I am familiar with your three questions, but I do not know how to answer them,” the old orchard keeper replied. He then pointed to the western horizon, where Prince Qi could faintly see the saw-toothed profile of the mainland, behind which rose an extremely tall mountain.
“That is the western shore of Bohai Sea. The tall mountain is Tai Shan. One day, this island will drift over there. Living near the shore is a fisherman. He is the most enlightened amongst mortals and only he will be able to answer your three questions.”
So Prince Qi began waiting on the peach covered beach. He waited a long time, and frequently caught sight of the old orchard keeper laboriously climbing each tree to harvest the peaches. He eventually decided to go help the old orchard keeper instead of waiting on the beach all by himself. Thus the time passed, day after day, month after month, year after year.
One day, Daiyu Island finally drifted near the Bohai shore. It only touched the shore long enough for Prince Qi to step onto the yellow sandy beach before drifting away again.
Prince Qi started searching along the seashore for the old fisherman. It wasn’t long before he saw, on a rock jutting into the sea, an old man sitting as still as a tree, holding an oddly bent fishing rod over the water.
Prince Qi approached the old fisherman, and very politely said, “Venerable sage, would you be willing to answer three questions that have been troubling me? Why was I born into this world? What is the meaning of my existence? How should I live in order to attain the greatest happiness?”
The old man didn’t move, but simply replied, “The destination seems far but is quite near. The object seems obscure but is quite clear. My lord, don’t you already know the answers?” The old man then turned his head and smiled kindly at Prince Qi.
A jolt of recognition ran through Prince Qi: was this not the old man with white hair and silver whiskers that told him about the enchanted islands years ago? And was his oddly bent fishing rod not the same walking stick he held in his hand all those years ago? At that moment, all of the sights and sounds, thoughts and experiences from his years of seeking coalesced into a profound understanding of perfect clarity.
With eyes wide from his newfound insight, Prince Qi said to himself, “Now that I know the answers to the three questions, I must return to the palace to tell the grand vizier and ministers,” and he started to walk in the direction of the palace.
When he arrived in the vicinity of the palace, however, he couldn’t find any trace of it. All he saw was a field of rubble and weeds. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he started to look around more carefully. That was when he saw an old man napping at the base of a broken piece of wall.
As he walked toward the old man, his steps on the broken debris startled the old man awake. The man slowly lifted his head and groggily asked, “What are you looking for?”
“I am looking for the Palace of Lu,” replied Prince Qi.
“The Palace of Lu is right under your feet,” the old man responded, pointing at the ground.
Nonplussed, Prince Qi asked the old man to explain, so the old man relayed the events the prince had missed while he was away: A long time ago, Lu was conquered by the Kingdom of Chu; not long after that, Chu was conquered by the Kingdom of Qin, and so the Qin army also burned the Palace of Lu to the ground. Now, not only has Qin been subsumed by the Han dynasty, even Afang Palace in the Qin capital of Xianyang is nothing more than a field of rubble and weeds like the one they’re standing in.
“The destination seems far but is quite near. The object seems obscure but is quite clear,” Prince Qi sighed.
As the old man was relating this history to Prince Qi, a crowd of young people had slowly gathered around where the two were standing. When the old man had finished, they asked Prince Qi, where did he come from?
“I am from right here,” replied Prince Qi, pointing at the rubble on the ground.
The crowd was incredulous, and asked Prince Qi, who are you, really?
“I am Prince Qi, crown prince of Lu,” he replied.
The crowd started laughing, and said Prince Qi drowned in the Bohai Sea a long time ago. So Prince Qi told them about his time on the enchanted islands. But before he could share the insight he gained about the meaning and purpose of life, the crowd had scattered in an uproar. Even the old man Prince Qi was talking to had laid back down by the broken wall and fallen asleep.
“Who left in the world will believe my story, much less want to hear the wisdom I’ve acquired?” Prince Qi wondered. “Probably only the hermits on Tai Shan, I suppose.”
So without another thought, Prince Qi started walking toward Tai Shan.
