Carpenter Shi was traveling to Qi when he came to Quyuan and saw an oak tree at the village shrine. It was so large that its shade could cover thousands of cattle. Its trunk was a hundred spans around. It towered over the mountains, with branches starting only eighty feet up; dozens of them were big enough to make boats. Crowds gathered to gawk, but Carpenter Shi walked right past without a glance. His apprentice looked his fill and ran after the carpenter, asking: 'Since I took up my ax to follow you, I've never seen timber as beautiful as this. Yet you won't give it a look but walk right on. Why?'