The Eight Old Men of Bagong Mountain
On a misty Han-dynasty mountain above the Huai River, a king who has gathered scholars and crucibles in search of endless life is visited by eight old men in hemp robes, whose slow, ordinary teachings show him that what he has been clutching was never his to keep, and that letting the hands open is itself the lightness he was seeking.
Retold from The Chinese Fairy Book, edited by Richard Wilhelm.
