The fable of "The Foolish Old Man Moved the Mountain" in "Liezi·Tangwen" is well known in China. The story tells that Yu Gong led his family to dig mountains in order to move away the two mountains of Taihang and Wangwu that blocked the door of his house. The Emperor of Heaven was moved by his spirit and sent two gods to move the two mountains away. According to Liezi, these two immortals are the "two sons of Kua Mo".
The "Kua Mo Shi" in the story is of course a Hercules, but except for "Lieh Zi", there are no other documents recording the situation of this god, so most people are not very clear about his specific identity. .
Some scholars pointed out that the so-called "original form" of "Kua Mo Shi" is a giant ant, and "Kua Mo Shi" can be called the "Giant Ant God".
The traditional Chinese version of "ant" is "ant". The word "moth" usually used in the word "moth" in modern Chinese is the original character of "ant", and "ant" is a later character. "Shuowen Jiezi": "The moth... sounds from the insect." Duan Yucai's "Shuowen Jiezi Annotation" says under the character "mo": "Moth is the orthographic character, and ant is the or character".
The word "ant" is not included in "Shuowen Jiezi", but it obviously derives its sound from "righteousness". "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Righteousness is the power of oneself, follow me and follow the sheep." Duan Yucai's "Notes" says: "The power and righteousness come from oneself, so they follow me." "The Ancient Commentary and Modern Translation of Liezi" written by Mr. Xiao Dengfu points out that ""Shiwen" says: Kua Mo's original work is Kua Yishi." The "Shiwen" mentioned here refers to "Liezi Chongxu" compiled by Yin Jingshun of the Tang Dynasty and supplemented by Chen Jingyuan of the Song Dynasty. An Explanation of the Zhide Zhen Sutra. It can be seen that in a certain version of "Liezi" circulated during the Tang and Song Dynasties, "Kuai Mo Shi" was written as "Kuai Yishi".
“Moth” and “ant” are interlinked, and other examples can be found in ancient literature. "Chu Ci Tianwen": "The bee moth has a small life, but its strength is strong." Wang Yi's "Chu Ci Chapters" notes: "The bee moth is a poisonous insect. It receives the destiny and has strong strength. Qu Yuan used it to describe the barbarians. It is poisonous, and it is the only one who should worry about Qin and Wu Er." Hong Xingzu of the Song Dynasty said in "Supplementary Notes to Chu Ci": "Moth, the ancient word for ant".
"Mozi: Preparing Mo Fu": "Zi Mozi said: 'Zi asked Mo Fu how to guard against evil?'" Sun Yirang, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, commented in "Mozi's Interpretation": " The moth master is the ant master." Note: "Yifu" is also called "antfu". It is a tactic often used when attacking a city in ancient wars. It describes that when soldiers on the attacking side climb the city with the help of ladders and the like, they swarm up like ants. . "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Planning for Attack" Chapter:
The method of attacking a city is as a last resort. It takes three months to repair the oars and the equipment, and it takes three months to complete it. If the general is overwhelmed by his anger and ants attack him, killing one-third of the city but not taking it out, this attack will be a disaster.
The term "ant clinging" vividly describes the clinging state of the attacking soldiers during the siege. "Fu" and "Fu" can be used interchangeably when expressing the meaning of "attachment". "Mo Fu" should be read as "ANT FU (yǐfù)". It can be seen that "praise moth" is also "praise ant".
The word "kua" in "Kua Mo Shi" means "big" in ancient Chinese. "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Praise means extravagance". "Guangya Shuzheng·Exegesis": "Exaggeration is great". The protagonist in the famous myth and legend "Kuafu Zhuri" is named "Kuafu", which means he is a "tall man".
The word "kua" means "big", which is still retained in modern Chinese. For example, the word "exaggeration" is a compound word with a parallel structure, and "exaggeration" and "big" have similar meanings. In addition, in ancient times, "praise" implied the meaning of "beauty". Because in the aesthetic concepts of ancient people, tall and strong stature is one of the important features of physical beauty. In "The Book of Songs·Wei Feng·Shuo Ren", "Shuo Ren Qi" and "Shuo Ren Ao Ao" are both complimentary words to describe the tall figure of the heroine Zhuang Jiang. Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" "If you believe in Ge, you can practice the essentials. How can it hurt if you have a long jaw?" In one sentence, Wang Yi commented: "G, big." Hong Xingzu's "Supplementary Note" said: "Believe in Ge, and the words are good. Also, I agree with Xinfang and Xinmei. "The word "山" derives its sound and meaning from the word "kua". It can be seen that the word "kua" in "Kua Mo Shi" implies praise when describing the appearance of the object.
The ancients have long noticed that although ants are small in size, their carrying capacity is relatively stronger than other species. The plot in "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains" in which the emperor ordered "Kuao Clan" to carry two mountains was obviously influenced by this concept.
To sum up, the so-called "Kuai Mo" means "Kuai ant", which is also the "giant ant". The "Kuai moth" (i.e. Kua ant) ??in "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountain" should be named after that. As the "giant ant god".
By the way, according to "Xia Xiaozheng" in "The Book of Rites of Da Dai", the ancients called ants "Xuanju", which means that ants are black. In this way, "Kua Moshi" should be the image of a handsome man with a dark face and a tall stature.
Ancient Chinese myths and stories should have been very rich, but in the process of their spread, many of them were lost due to various reasons. "Kua Mo Clan" has not been found in the existing ancient documents. Other records are not found in the genealogy of Chinese mythological figures summarized by contemporary scholars. The correct description of the image of "Kua Mo Shi" helps people understand the corresponding plot in "The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountain", and is also helpful for improving the genealogy of ancient Chinese mythological figures. Benefit and help.