This story happened during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). There was once an old man named Meng who lived in the southern part of the country with his wife. One spring, Meng sowed a seed of bottle gourd2 in his yard. The bottle gourd grew up bit by bit and its vines climbed over the wall and entered his neighbor Jiang's yard. Like Meng, Jiang had no children and so he became very fond of the plant. He watered and took care of the plant. With tender care of both men, the plant grew bigger and bigger and gave a beautiful bottle gourd in autumn. Jiang plucked it off the vine, and the two old men decided3 to cut the gourd and divide it by half. To their surprise when they cut the gourd a pretty and lovely girl was lying inside! They felt happy to have a child and both loved her very much, so they decided to bring the child up together. They named the girl Meng Jiangnu, which means Meng and Jiang's daughter.
As time went by, Meng Jiangnu grew up and became a beautiful young woman. She was very smart and industrious4. She took care of old Meng and Jiang's families, washing the clothes and doing the house work. People knew that Meng Jiangnu was a good girl and liked her very much. One day while playing in the yard, Meng Jiangnu saw a young man hiding in the garden. She called out to her parents, and the young man came out.
At that time, Emperor Qin Shihuang (the first emperor of Qin) announced to build the Great Wall. So lots of men were caught by the federal officials. Fan Qiliang was an intellectual man and very afraid of being caught, so he went to Meng's house to hide from the officials. Meng and Jiang liked this good-looking, honest, and good-mannered young man. They decided to wed1 their daughter to him. Both Fan Qiliang and Meng Jiangnu accepted happily, and the couple was married several days later. However, three days after their marriage, officials suddenly broke in and took Fan Qiliang away to build the Great Wall in the north of China.
It was a hard time for Meng Jiangnu after her husband was taken away - she missed her husband and cried nearly every day. She sewed warm clothes for her husband and decided to set off to look for him. Saying farewell to her parents, she packed her luggage and started her long journey. She climbed over mountains and went through the rivers. She walked day and night, slipping and falling many times, but finally she reached the foot of the Great Wall at the present Shanhaiguan Pass.
Upon her arrival, she was eager to ask about her husband. Bad news came to her, however, that Fan Qiliang had already died of exhaustion5 and was buried into the Great Wall! Meng Jiangnu could not help crying. She sat on the ground and cried and cried. Suddenly with a tremendous noise, a 400 kilometer-long (248-mile-long) section of the Great Wall collapsed6 over her bitter wail7. The workmen and supervisors8 were astonished. Emperor Qin Shihuang happened to be touring the wall at that exact time, and he was enraged9 and ready to punish the woman.
However, at the first sight of Meng Jiangnu Emperor Qin Shihuang was attracted by her beauty. Instead of killing10 her, the Emperor asked Meng Jiangnu to marry him. Suppressing her feeling of anger, Meng Jiangnu agreed on the basis of three terms. The first was to find the body of Fan Qiliang, the second was to hold a state funeral for him, and the last one was to have Emperor Qin Shihuang wear black mourning for Fan Qiliang and attend the funeral in person. Emperor Qin Shihuang thought for a while and reluctantly agreed. After all the terms were met, Emperor Qin Shihuang was ready to take her to his palace. When the guarders were not watching, she suddenly turned around and jumped into the nearby Bohai Sea.
This story tells of the hard work of Chinese commoners, as well as exposes the cruel system of hard labor11 during the reign12 of Emperor Qing Shihuang. The Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall embodied13 the power and wisdom of the Chinese nation. In memory of Meng Jiangnu, later generations built a temple, called the Jiangnu Temple, at the foot of the Great Wall in which a statue of Meng Jiangnu is located. Meng Jiangnu's story has been passed down from generation to generation.
我的同学
2006中考英语作文
关于香港回归十周年的日记
A Trip
2007中考英语作文
保护动物
我的书房
水的循环
成人教育的发展 A Boom in Adult education
我心目中的父亲
启事
出国学习 Going abroad for studies
中考英语作文:My view on school uniform
How to Improve Your English Reading
日记,记述今天的经历
论习惯
寒假去哈尔滨旅游
你喜不喜欢这种方式的旅行? Which Mode of Travel Do Yo.
体罚解决不了问题
缤纷校园生活
语文教师My Chinese Teacher
羞愧
2008奥运的中考英语作文
Sunset
动物需要人类的保护
社会习俗与行为
向人们介绍本校的情况
中考英语作文指导(启事)
“神州五号”载人宇宙飞船
What is beauty in your mind?
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |