(Clearwisdom.net) During the period of the South-North Dynasty, there
was a kingdom called Tuguhun, which was established by the Xianbei ethnicity at
the Northwestern border region. Acai was the emperor of this kingdom.
Acai had twenty sons, each one of whom was strong and skilled at fighting. Each
had his unique expertise. When Acai was very ill, he called all of his sons
together and asked each one of them to give him one arrow. He then said to his
younger brother, Mu Liyan, "Please take one arrow here and break it."
Mu Liyan easily broke the arrow. Acai then said, "Please take nineteen
arrows here and break them." Mu Liyan could no longer break the bundle of
arrows. Acai said, "Now do you understand? One arrow is very easily broken,
while a bundle of arrows is hard to break. As long as all of you work together
with one heart, our kingdom will be stable."
What Acai said, "One arrow is easily broken, while a bundle of arrows is
hard to break," as well as what has been said by the ancient people,
"When people's hearts are joined together as one, even Mount Tai can be
moved," pointed out the importance of people working together with one
heart.