Chinese Folktale: Sima Guang Broke the Vat

Sima Guang (1019-1086) was a Chinese historian, scholar, and high chancellor of the Song Dynasty. He is best remembered for compiling his monumental "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" masterwork, a general chronicle of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 (294 scrolls), considered one of the largest historical magnum opus in history and one of the finest single historical works in Chinese.

This story Sima Guang Broke the Vat is a folktale that Sima Guang broke a great ceramic container where a boy was drowning. Frightened, all other boys ran away. Only Sima Guang remained calm and had the presence of mind to break the vat with a large rock. The water flushed out of the vat, and the boy was rescued.

Shortly afterwards Sima Guang’s heroic deed was drawn into pictures and widely told. Till today this story has been known to every household in China, inspiring countless children's minds and courage.

The story is titled "Sima Guang Za Gang” in Chinese, which could simply be a play on his name for rhyming, or a twist of tongue.

The book comes with Chinese characters and the Pinyin (phonetic transcriptions), making it an excellent means of learning elementary Chinese. The book ends with a Q & A, which helps parents engage their children in a discussion about the story.