The emperor of the South Sea was named "Tiao", the emperor of the North Sea was named "Hu", and the central emperor "Hun Dun".
    Tiao and Hu often had contacts with each other and were very intimate. They often met in the central area under Hun Dun's rule and received his warm hospitality.
    One day, Tiao and Hu met again and talked about Hun Dun. They were very grateful to him and wished to repay him well.
    After discussing for a long time they realized that everyone has seven orifices; the mouth, nostrils1, ears, eyes, so that they can eat, smell, listen, and see the beautiful scenery of nature. Only Hun Dun did not have them and could not enjoy these pleasures.
    Finally, they thought of a clever way: they decided2 to bore seven holes on Hun Dun's head. In this way he would be the same as others.
    Then, regardless of whether Hun Dun would agree or not, Tiao and Hu began working on him. One took a big chisel3 and the other swung an iron hammer to bore one hole a day on Hun Dun's head. However, on the seventh day, Hun Dun bled from from the seven orifices to death.
    南海的皇帝，名字叫“鯈”；北海的皇帝，名字叫“忽”；中央的皇帝，名字叫“渾沌”。
    鯈和忽經(jīng)常來往，十分親密。他們倆還常常在渾沌管轄的中央地區(qū)會面，受到渾沌的熱情款待。
    一天，鯈和忽又碰在一道談起渾沌，都非常感激他，想好好地報(bào)答他一番。
    他們商量了半天以后發(fā)現(xiàn)，每個(gè)人都有嘴巴、鼻孔、耳朵、眼睛等七竅，可以吃東西，聞味道，聽聲音，有大自然美景，只有渾沌沒有七竅，無法享受。
    終于，他們想出了一個(gè)聰明的辦法：決定給渾沌的頭鑿出七竅，這樣渾沌就可以和大家一樣享受了。
    接著，鯈和忽不管渾沌本人同意和不同意，一齊動(dòng)手，一個(gè)拿把大鑿子，一個(gè)掄起大鐵錘，叮叮當(dāng)當(dāng)，在他頭上每天鑿一個(gè)孔?？墒牵彽降谄咛?，渾沌卻被鑿得七孔流血而死了。