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Story 31: I Passed Through Hangu Pass

I Passed Through Hangu Pass

Author: Anonymous

When I, Li Er, was in his fifties, he was an official in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When he was fifty years old, he lost his official position due to internal strife between his princely dynasty and King Zhou Jing and King Zhou Yao. So he rode a green ox and left his hometown to go west, passed Hangu Pass, and went to Qin to give lectures.

The incident of crossing Hangu Pass has been widely circulated here (Li Er’s hometown). It can be said that it is a household name and everyone knows it. Even those who curse use this legend.

It is said that once, a person named Liu asked a person named Li what his last name was. The person named Li said:

“Ride a green ox across Hangu. My surname is Li.”

When the man surnamed Liu heard this, he knew that he had suffered a loss, so he quickly asked the man surnamed Li: “Do you know what my surname is?”

The man surnamed Li said, “What is your surname?”

The man surnamed Liu said: “Behead the snake and prosper the Han Dynasty. The great ancestor’s surname was Liu.”