Weird question related to chinese "proverbs"

Raiden333

Awhile back, I remember reading some stories supposedly from ancient China about a wise-fool character who says silly things that make you think. The only one I can remember is something like "_____ walked into a tavern one night and claimed boldly that the moon was more useful than the sun. People laughed at him and asked him to explain why, and he said simply 'Because the moon gives us light during the night, when we need it more.'"

Anyone remember the name of the character from these stories so I can look them up again?

ainuvas

Quick google search brought up:

Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and announced, "The moon is more useful than the sun." "Why?" he was asked. "Because at night we need the light more."

Quid

Aw man, I thought you meant a written Chinese character.

Totally came across one that meant both foolish and profound by freak chance the other day.

takyris

Nasrudin isn't from China, though. He's a mullah (sp), as I recall dimly from school, which would put him in the middle east, que non?

PolloDiablo

Judging by a quick wikipedia visit, it seems that he's widely used as a folkloric figure all through Asia, so I think it's possible he features in Chinese stories, too.

Raiden333

Thanks a lot!