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Great Wall Scenery |
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Meng Jiangnu's Bitter Weeping to the Great wall |
 It is said that 2,000 years ago when Qin Shihuang (the First Emperor of
the Qin) was building the Great Wall, a young fellow called Fan Xiliang
was forced to work on the construction of the Great Wall, even on his
wedding day. Before Fan Xiliang went away, his bride, a girl named Meng
Jiangnu, broke her white jade hairpin into two and gave her husband one
half as a token of love. Meng Jiangnu waited at home for her husband for
five years but did not hear a word from him. One night, Meng Jiangnu had
a bad dream. She dreamed that her husband was constantly yelling: "Cold,
cold!" She recalled that her husband was wearing very thin clothes. Very
soon, she made some padded clothes and set off alone to look for Xiliang.
After walking all the way on foot, crossing mountains and rivers, Meng
Jiangnu finally got to the construction site of the Great Wall, where
she was told that her husband had died and was buried under the Great
Wall. Hearing this sad news of the death of her beloved, she trekked to
the foot of the Great Wall and started crying. She cried day and night,
and her wailing made the wall fall. She finally saw her husband's bones
under the wall. This made Qin Shihuang, the emperor, very angry, and he
ordered Meng Jiangnu to be punished. However when he saw the young lady,
he was immediately attracted by her beauty. He asked her to marry him.
Meng Jiangnu had to agree but asked for a grand funeral for her husband.
After the funeral, she and Qin Shihuang went for a trip on the Bohai
Sea. How could she marry the tyrant who had killed her husband? She
could not, so she jumped into the sea unseen by the guards. Today on the
shore of the Bohai Sea, beyond Shanhaiguan Pass, there are two black and
rocky reefs. According to legend, the round one is Meng Jiangnu's tomb
and the square one is her tomb tablet. Not far from her tomb, a temple
was built on a small hill to commemorate the lady of chastity. Visitors
to Shanhaiguan Pass should not miss the chance to see her "tomb" and
temple. |
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Legend of Yumenguan Pass name |
 In the long past, caravans passed through a post in the west of Small
Square City in Gansu Province. Caravans had to pass here to transport
jade and other precious goods. The terrain in this area is very complex
and varied. There are swamps, valleys, forests and fields of wild grass
growing everywhere. During the heat of summer, the caravans often chose
to set off in the cool of the night to avoid the intense heat. Becoming
lost in the dark and complex terrain was quite common. And even old
horses familiar with the terrain lost their way. Hence, the post got the
name, "Horse Losing the Way".
One day, a caravan lost its way shortly after entering the area. The
members of the caravan were anxious to get out of the area safely. While
discussing their problem, a wild goose fell to the ground and caught by
a kind-hearted young man, who held it gently in his arms. He decided to
keep the goose with him until they got out of this strange place.
After a short while, the young man was surprised to see tears running
down the face of the goose and heard it say, "Honk, honk, give me food,
honk, honk, take you out". Hearing this, the young man understood that
the goose fell behind its group because of hunger. So he fetched food
and water and fed the goose. Having eaten enough food, the goose flew up
to the sky and circled around over the caravan. The goose led the
caravan safely to their destination, Small Square City.
Some time later, the caravan lost their way again at the same place. The
goose flew to them and said, "Honk, honk, get lost; honk, honk, lead you
out if you inlay jade on the Pass". As the goose said this, it flew over
the caravan and led the caravan out of the strange area. Only the young
man who had previously rescued the goose understood what the goose said.
He told the leader that the goose asked them to inlay a luminous black
green jade on the top of Small Square City. The rays of the jade would
be able to guide caravans and no one will get lost in the dark any more.
Hearing these words, the boss thought it over and then he refused to
give up his valuable jade.
Unfortunately, this very same caravan got lost once again! They could
not find water and were dying of thirst. Just at their bleakest moment,
the goose flew to them and cried, "You are lost, inlay the jade or never
get out". The young man repeated the goose's words to the caravan
leader. His boss was afraid and did not know what to do. He asked the
young man for help. The young man told him to kneel down and promise the
goose that he would inlay the jade. The boss heeded the young man and
the caravan was led out of the desolate lands to safety.
The caravan which had now been rescued three times by the goose reached
the Small Square City safely. The caravan leader was no longer greedily
holding on to the jade. He chose the best and largest luminous black
green jade to inlay on the top of the pass. Whenever the curtain of the
night fell, the brilliant rays that the jade sent out could be clearly
seen from even a far distance. With this guide, caravans passing this
post never got lost. From then on, the Small Square City was changed
into Yumenguan Pass (Jade Gate Pass). |
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Story of Shanhaiguan Pass |
 Six hundred years ago, during the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang came to the
throne. He issued a royal edict ordering his Marshal, Xu Da and his
military counselor, Liu Bowen to find a suitable place for the
construction of defense walls to the north of Beijing City. He decreed
that the project should be completed within two years.
Accepting the Emperor's instructions Xu Da and Liu Bowen set off
immediately for the country's northern boundary. Soon they reached their
destination and on the day following their arrival, they climbed to a
mountaintop looking for the best place to build the fortification.
Although Xu Da was an accomplished soldier and military leader he was
just a layman when it came to the construction of fortifications. Liu
Bowen, the military counselor of the empire, was rich in knowledge about
almost everything so, he was more capable in choosing an appropriate
location for the fortifications. Xu Da praised the place as "A good
battlefield, a good place for fortification!" Liu Bowen just kept
silent, saying nothing. On the third day they returned to the same place
and Liu remained silent once again. Nothing differed from the former
day.
On the fourth day, they came to the mountain once again. This time, Xu
Da could not hold his tongue. He asked Liu Bowen why he just kept silent
without saying a word. Liu Bowen answered, "It is because of the
countryside and you".
"Why because of me?" Xu Da felt confused.
Liu Bowen continued to say, "Look, there are mountains in the north and
the Bohai Sea in the south of this place. If we were to build a
fortification wall here, it will be easy to defend and hard to attack."
Realizing the wisdom of Liu Bowen, Xu Da asked what kind of wall Liu
Bowen would build. Liu Said the wall should be a solid one. It should be
bigger and higher than any other wall. And it would be built as a wall
within a wall, with walls connecting them, with a tower facing a tower
and a tower watching a tower. Liu raised his horsewhip and pointed to
the distant spot and said, "It is also a good place in which to build a
home as it has fertile soil and a mild climate. It is really a good
place for living." Xu Da understood the meaning of "because of you". He
liked Liu Bowen's idea very much. As soon as they got back to the
barracks, they figured out a plan for the fortification and sent it to
the emperor the next morning. With the plan approved by the emperor,
they started the construction. Within one year and eight months, the
pass was completed.
They returned to the court where in an audience, the emperor saw Xu Da
and Liu Bowen. He asked, "Is the construction project finished?" they
answered, "Yes, thank you your Imperial Highness," as they bowed before
the throne. "Have you named the pass?" the Emperor asked. Now, Xu Da and
Liu Bowen were struck dumb by these words. The royal edict just gave
them an order to build the wall, not to name it as well. Xu Da wanted to
say something to the emperor but was stopped by Liu Bowen. Liu Bowen
stepped forward and answered, "We did not rush into action without your
approval. The pass goes into the sea at the south end and relies on the
mountain at the north end. It is really a pass of mountain and sea!
Please name it as such." The emperor nodded to them and said, "Good
idea! Just call it Shanhaiguan Pass (Mountain and Sea Pass)."
After their audience with the emperor, Liu Bowen and Xu Da went to Xu
Da's house where Liu told Xu that he was preparing to leave. Xu asked
where he was going.
Liu Said, "I¡¯m actually a freeman so I am going to travel anywhere I
please." Xu Da did not understand why he should say that and said, "We
followed the emperor and fought for him. In addition, we built the
Shanhaiguan Pass for him. We are the men that achieved much for the
empire. We should enjoy our lives from now on but as you are such a
hero, the emperor will never let you leave."
Liu shook his head and said, "It is not as you say. The Emperor did not
order us to build the wall within two years if he meant us to lead a
happy life. Had we refused to obey the order, we were sure to die; if we
accepted the order but didn't complete the work on time, we would have
been charged with cheating him. If we completed the work on time and
named the pass, we would have been charged with paying no attention to
the emperor's explicit orders. By not naming the pass we could be
regarded as being inept at the job. Our lives are in his hands whatever
he decides. This is just a beginning."
"Counselor, you mean..."Xu Da fell into confusion.
"Have you noticed the many examples of what has happened between the
Emperor and his vassals? Vassals can experience the adversities of the
Emperor, but they cannot share the fruits of success with him The
Emperor won't allow that", Liu Bowen said.
Hearing these words, Xu Da was struck dumb again. "What shall I do after
your departure?" he said after a short pause.
"You stay by the Emperor's side. Never leave him, even if he wants to
drive you away. Furthermore, you'd better send your son to the
Shanhaiguan Pass, where he won't suffer in battle and can lead a
comfortable life."
"Good idea! I will let my son to set off for the Shanhaiguan Pass
tomorrow." Xu Da agreed with Liu Bowen.
As they were talking about the matter, a man broke into the room. That
was Hu Dahai, one of Xu Da's faithful friends. He had overheard the
conversation, and on entering the room he said, "Marshal, I have
followed you through fire and water and worked myself to the bone for
you. Would you please send my son also to the Shanhaiguan Pass for
safety?"
As they were talking, Chang Yuchun, another general entered the room.
Realizing that all three men were the best of friends, friends as close
as the legendary Damon and Pythias, Liu Bowen told them his thoughts.
Chang Yuchun insisted that he also should send his son to the
Shanhaiguan Pass.
A short period later, Liu Bowen left the court without saying goodbye.
In accordance with what Liu had said, Xu Da remained with the emperor
never leaving his side and thus he saved his life. However, Hu Dahai and
Chang Yuchun and other men of great merit and who played a vital role in
the founding of the empire all died in a fire during a triumphal
banquet.
As for their sons, they reached the Shanhaiguan Pass and settled there.
Later their descendants built the Xu Da Temple at the Shanhaiguan Pass,
here too is the Hu Tomb (Hujiafen) at the northeast and the Chang Tomb (Changjiafen)
at the southwest of the pass as well as stone statues of these people,
horses and torii to their memory. |
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A Legend about Beacon Tower |
 The beacon towers on hilltops often played a key role in military
communication in ancient war times. Once the enemy pressed towards the
border, the signal from the beacon tower would be sent by beacon (fires
or lanterns) during the night or by smoke signals in the daytime.
A famous story is told about Baosi, Queen of the Western Zhou Dynasty
(11th century BC - 711 BC). She was highly honored, yet she never
cracked a smile. King You tried many ways to put a smile on her face,
but he failed over and over again. He "called his court band to toll
bells and beat gongs", and she looked unhappy. Then the band was asked
to "play the bamboo flute and strings", and she remained displeased.
Afterwards, "maids of honor served wine, festively singing and dancing",
and she still did not smile.
"You don't like music! What on earth are you fond of?" the King asked.
"I don't have much of a liking for anything. But I can still well
remember when I was a child. I liked to listen to the sound of colored
silk being torn. It was clear and melodious," she replied. King You said
in excitement, "That is very simple. Why didn't you let me know that
earlier?"
Then the King ordered the official property manager to produce colored
silk. He assembled fresh and energetic maids of honor and had them tear
the silk into pieces, but Queen Baosi remained unmoved.
"Why won't you smile now?" he asked.
"I have not smiled so far," the Queen replied.
The King tried over and over again, but failed. In the end he gave an
order: "Anyone, either in or out of court, who can amuse Queen Baosi
will be awarded one thousand pieces of gold."
Afterwards, Guo Shifu, a treacherous court official, came and offered
advice: "Set the beacon tower on fire and fool your sovereign rulers."
That night the King and Queen reached Lishan Mountain by carriage, and
gave the order. In a split second, the flames of the fire lit up the sky
and the sovereign rulers moved their troops immediately to Lishan
Mountain. There they found the King and Queen enjoyed drinking
festively. The King then dispatched his bodyguard to inform them,
"Everything is all right. I have just been joking with you." When they
heard this, they looked at each other in blank dismay, leaving
disappointed. Sure enough, Queen Baosi burst into laughter, stroking her
hands when she noticed all the troops who had come in vain and now
returned noisily. Accordingly, Guo Shifu got a prize of one thousand
pieces of gold. Later, King You repeated his joke more often than not.
In 771 B.C., Quan Rong (a then ethnic group) staged an armed rebellion
against the Western Zhou dynasty. King You urgently ordered the beacon
tower set on fire, but all the sovereign rulers did not come.
Consequently King You was killed, and Baosi was taken away. The Western
Zhou dynasty vanished. Hence come the Chinese idioms: "A single smile
costs one thousand pieces of gold" and "The sovereign rulers are fooled
by the beacon fire." |
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A story about the Jiayuguan Great Wall Brick |
 This is a legend about the Jiayuguan Pass, which tells of a workman
named Yi Kaizhan in the Ming Dynasty (1368BC-1644BC) who was proficient
in arithmetic. He calculated that it would need 99,999 bricks to build
the Jiayuguan Pass. The supervisor did not believe him and said if they
miscalculated even one brick, then all the workmen would be punished to
do hard work for another three years. After the completion of the
project, one brick was left behind the Xiwong city gate. The supervisor
was happy at the sight of the brick and ready to punish them. However Yi
Kaizhan said with deliberation that the brick was put there by a
supernatural being to fix the wall. A tiny move would cause the collapse
of the wall. Therefore the brick was kept there and never moved. It can
still be found there today on the tower of the Jiayuguan Pass. |
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A legend of how to transfer the stones |
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During the construction of the Jiayuguan Pass, huge blocks of stone,
each measuring two meters (6.6 feet) in length and 0.5 meters (1.6 feet)
in width and 0.3 meters (1.0 feet) thick were in great demand. Builders
cut the crude stones in the mountain; however they were so heavy that
there was no means to transport them over such a long distance. At that
time the laws and regulations governing the construction stipulated that
workers would be executed if they delayed the construction of the Great
Wall; a fact that caused them great concern. It was near to the depths
of winter, and not one block of stone was carried from the mountain. The
workers sighed but no one had a solution to the problem. Suddenly a loud
clap of thunder burst on the mountaintop and a length of silk brocade
fell from the sky. The workers rushed to pick it up it and saw some
words on it. Seeing the words, they realized what they should do. By the
arrival of winter, the workers had built a path from the mountaintop to
the Jiayuguan Pass. They poured water on this path, which quickly froze.
They put the large blocks of stone on the icy path, sliding the stones
along it. In this manner they got the stones to the work site on time.
This clever ruse saved much time and the construction work was not
delayed. To give thanks for the divine help, the workers built a temple
near the Jiayuguan Pass. The temple then became the place where the
succeeding workers went to pay respect to their heavenly protector. |
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A story of goats carrying the stones |
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The Jiayuguan Pass is about nine meters high (30 feet). In addition, ten
towers each with different shapes and abundant buttresses were built on
the pass. At that time, conditions for the construction workers were
very hard. Without lifting equipment, they had to carry all the bricks.
Those used to build the pass were fired in a kiln 20 kilometers (12
miles) away. After firing the bricks, workers used oxcarts to carry them
to the pass, and then had to pass them up onto the wall by manpower. The
only path for transporting the bricks was a long slope, which was very
difficult to go up and down. In spite of more workers being sent there,
it was still a hard job. The construction schedule was severely
affected. One day, a shepherd boy brought his goats to feed alongside
the construction site. When he saw the plight of the workers, he
suddenly had a bright idea. He took off his girdle, tied a brick on each
end and put the girdle over the back of a goat. He patted the goat. The
smart animal then trotted along the road, up the slope and onto the
wall. The workers were pleasantly surprised by the sight and adopted the
idea and so were able to quickly carry large numbers of bricks onto the
wall. |
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Legend of swallow twitter |
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Once, there was a pair of swallows nesting within the walls of the
Rouyuan Gate on the Jiayuguan Pass. One morning, the swallows flew out
of the Pass looking for food. In the evening, the female swallow
returned and waited for her partner. However when the male swallow
reached the gate, he found it was closed and he could not return to the
nest. Letting out a sorrowful sound, he struck himself against the wall
and died. Overwhelmed with sorrow by the death of her husband, the
female swallow twittered and twittered and finally died of sadness.
Although she was dead, her soul remained there near the wall. Whenever
people knocked on the wall with a stone, the twitter of a swallow would
be heard. In ancient China, people regarded this sound of the twitter as
auspicious. When generals set off for battles, their wives would knock
on the wall with a stone to pray for their safe return. Later it evolved
into a kind of custom that generals and soldiers would take their
families to the wall and knock upon the wall as a prayer before they
went off to fight in battles. |
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