Once upon a time, Emperor Minh Mang, a famous Vietnamese ruler, often went on “disguised visits” to better understand his people’s lives. During one such trip, he passed through a village and saw an old, rickety bamboo bridge crossing a small river. The bridge looked very unsafe, so the emperor asked the villagers:
- “Why don’t you build a stone bridge? This bamboo bridge is dangerous!”
The villagers responded:
- “Your Majesty, building a stone bridge is expensive, and we are poor.”
The emperor nodded thoughtfully and promised that he would ensure a large stone bridge would be built so that the villagers could cross safely. The villagers were overjoyed. However, years passed, and they still saw the same old bamboo bridge, with no stone bridge in sight.
Finally, one villager traveled to the capital to ask about it, and a government official replied:
- “Oh, the large stone bridge? It’s already built…on paper!”
The villager could only shake his head, while Emperor Minh Mang, upon hearing this, could only laugh, knowing that back then, officials were skilled at “constructing projects” on paper, while real work was often left undone.