Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant (曹冲称象)
- Ages 4–8
- English audio 2 min
- Mandarin audio 2 min
Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant is a classic story from Chinese Myths and Legends for Kids, for children aged 4–8. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 2 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.
Nobody at court can weigh the huge elephant, until six-year-old Cao Chong puts it on a boat, marks the waterline and weighs stones instead. A true story from the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in simple English with narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.
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Read Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant
Eighteen hundred years ago, a lord named Cao Cao had a son, Cao Chong. He was six, and he loved to think things through.
One day a huge elephant arrived as a gift. Its legs were like pillars, its ears like big fans. "How heavy is this elephant? Who can weigh it?" asked Cao Cao.
The ministers walked round it. "My lord, there is no scale that big! Dozens of men could not even lift it." Nobody had an idea.
Then Cao Chong stepped forward. "I have a way. Lead the elephant onto the big boat." The boat sank lower, and he had a line drawn at the water.
The elephant was led off, and the boat rose. "Now load stones until the water reaches the line," said Cao Chong. Basket by basket, the boat sank to the line.
"Weigh the stones and add them up. That is the weight of the elephant!" The ministers nodded. Cao Cao lifted him up. "Good boy! What a clever head!"
The Chinese version: 曹冲称象
一千八百多年前，东汉末年，曹操有个儿子叫曹冲。他才六岁，脑袋瓜却特别灵，遇到事情总爱想一想。
有一天，孙权派人送来一头大象。大象又高又壮，腿像柱子，耳朵像两把大扇子，谁都没见过。曹操看了很高兴，问：“这头大象到底有多重？谁能称一称？”
大臣们围着大象转了好几圈。一个大臣摇摇头说：“丞相，天下没有这么大的秤啊！就是把它抬起来，也得几十个人呢。”大家你看我，我看你，谁也没有办法。
这时，曹冲走上前来说：“我有办法。请把大象牵到大船上去。”大象上了船，船往下沉了一截。曹冲让人贴着水面，在船边画了一道线。
然后，大象被牵下船，船又浮了上来。曹冲说：“现在往船上搬石头，水面正好到那道线就停。”大家一筐一筐地搬，船一点一点往下沉，水面刚好碰到线，曹冲就喊停了。
“把这些石头一筐一筐称一称，加起来，就是大象的重量啦！”曹冲笑着说。大臣们恍然大悟，连连点头。曹操抱起曹冲，高兴地说：“好孩子，你真会动脑筋！”
Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant (曹冲称象): the moral of the story
When there is no scale big enough, there may still be another way to weigh the elephant. Before you say a problem can't be solved, look for a different road.
The original Chinese text of Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant
时孙权曾致巨象，太祖欲知其斤重，访之群下，咸莫能出其理。冲曰：“置象大船之上，而刻其水痕所至，称物以载之，则校可知矣。”太祖大悦，即施行焉。
— 《三国志·魏书·邓哀王冲传》
Our translation
Sun Quan once sent a huge elephant. Cao Cao wanted to know its weight and asked everyone at court, but none could work out a way. Chong said, “Put the elephant on a big boat and mark where the water reaches. Then load the boat with other things and weigh those, and you will know.” Cao Cao was delighted and had it done at once.
— Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), Book of Wei, biography of Cao Chong, by Chen Shou (late 3rd century)
Chinese words in Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant
Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.
大象dà xiàng
elephant
称chēng
to weigh
秤chèng
a scale
重zhòng
heavy
船chuán
boat
石头shí tou
stone
办法bàn fǎ
a way, a method
动脑筋dòng nǎo jīn
to use your head
For families learning Mandarin
Mandarin learning pack
Print the story, read it together, then listen and say it back. Made for heritage families and children learning Mandarin.
- A printable PDF (3 pages): the Chinese story with pinyin over every character, the words to know, the English version, questions to talk about, and character writing practice.
- Slow Mandarin audio (4 min): every sentence at a gentler pace, followed by a pause long enough to say it back.
Buy once, download again any time. The story itself stays free to read and hear. Try the free sample pack (The Tortoise and the Hare) first.
Bedtime storytelling tips
- Stop after Cao Cao asks “Who can weigh it?” and let your child guess first: no scale is big enough, so what now?
- Act out the waterline with your hands: one palm is the boat, press it down as the elephant climbs on, lift it slowly as the elephant walks off.
- At bath time, float a small bowl as the boat, put a toy in it and watch how far it sinks, then swap the toy for something else. Cao Chong is 曹冲 (cáo chōng) in Chinese.
Things to talk about afterwards
- Why couldn't the ministers weigh the elephant?
- Why did Cao Chong draw a line on the side of the boat?
- Is there something at home too big or too heavy to weigh? How could you do it?
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Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant (曹冲称象): common questions
- What is the moral of Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant?
- Having no scale big enough does not mean the elephant cannot be weighed. The ministers could only think of scales; Cao Chong thought of a boat and stones, and the problem was solved another way. Before saying something can't be done, look for a different road.
- Where does the story of Cao Chong and the elephant come from?
- From the Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, in the biography of Cao Chong, Cao Cao's son, who lived from 196 to 208. The original passage is printed on this page with our translation. Cao Chong really was known as a prodigy, and this is the story everyone in China grows up with.
- How does Cao Chong's method work?
- It is buoyancy. A boat sinks deeper the more it carries. If the elephant sinks the boat to a certain line, and a pile of stones sinks it to the same line, the stones weigh the same as the elephant, and stones can be weighed a basket at a time. Archimedes in ancient Greece found the same principle.
- Is there a Chinese version of Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant?
- Yes. It is called 曹冲称象 (cáo chōng chēng xiàng). This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one, plus the classical original from the Records of the Three Kingdoms.
Source and how we retold it
From the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) by Chen Shou, Book of Wei, the biography of Cao Chong, written in the late 3rd century and in the public domain. The original is a few lines: Sun Quan sends an elephant, Cao Cao asks how to weigh it, no one can say, and Cao Chong proposes putting it on a boat, marking the waterline and loading other things to weigh; Cao Cao is delighted and does it. We added what the elephant looked like, the ministers' puzzlement and the stones going on basket by basket. Some folk versions have a minister suggest a cruel way to weigh it; we left that out.
The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by our narrator and the Chinese by our narrator. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.
If you liked Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant (曹冲称象), there are more stories in Chinese Myths and Legends for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.
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