HSK 3 Chinese reading practice

曹冲称象

cáo chōng chēng xiàng

Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant

A clever child uses a boat, a waterline, and stones to weigh an elephant.

RECOMMENDEDHSK 3
READ4 min
HANZI113
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文化
CULTURE

Measuring something too large for the scale

This childhood anecdote about Cao Chong belongs to Three Kingdoms-era lore. By comparing water displacement from an elephant with the weight of stones, he finds an indirect way to solve an apparently impossible measurement.

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