Meng Jiang Nv Story
Great Wall Folklore – The Legend of Meng Jiang Nv
In 214BC, to secure the northern frontiers, Qin Shi Huang Di ordered his greatest general, Meng Tian (known for his invention of the Chinese character brush made of animal hair), to mobilize all the able-bodied subjects in the country to build a long, long wall from the sea in the east to the desert in the west.
Thousands upon thousands of men were conscripted and forced to march north to work on the construction. These workers were generally subjected to great hardships. Up in the mountain wilderness, usually dressed only in rags they had to endure the bitterly cold northern winter, frequent hunger, exhaustion and cruel supervisors. Sadly, untold numbers died from a combination of all these factors.
The Great Wall, for all its majesty, is today a silent monument to faceless men and untold stories of unimaginable hardship, cruelty and starvation. Fable along with fact has survived to this day and the story of Meng Jiang Nv is one of the all-time favourites. Meng Jiang Nv was a woman of exceptional beauty. She married a man by the name of Wan Xi Liang, who was shortly afterwards drafted by the Qin authorities and pressed into work gangs.
Meng Jiang Nv had no news about her husband and she began to harbour the worst fears about the safety and well-being of her husband. Months later, talk was rife in her village that construction of the Great Wall had reached an adavanced stage. Men were working in the far north where the winters were freezing cold and hunger and exhaustion common place. Meng Jiang Nv made a quilted suit and boots for her husband. But there was no one to take the warm clothing to him. The roads to the north were long and tortuous and passed through many unknown regions. But her longing for her husband was so strong that she decided to undertake the dangerous journey by herself.
Meng Jiang Nv started the arduous journey by walking in a general northerly direction and plotting the route as she went along. She walked and walked. She climbed mountain after mountain. She crossed river after river. Despite suffering from hunger, blistered feet and the biting cold weather she continued obstinately along her journey.
Finally, she arrived at her destination after seemingly unsurmountable odds. She knew then that the monstrous construction which twisted like a snake and disappeared in the distant mountains was the Great Wall. Relief soon gave way to anxiety. Every worker she met and asked, knew nothing about the whereabouts of her husband. Day after day she persisted with her enquiries but drew a blank every time. Nobody seemed to know her husband. Finally she came to a group of workers who had worked with her husband before. They told her that Wan Xi Liang had died of exhaustion after days of continuous hard labour without a break. They also told her that he had been buried under the Great Wall. She asked to be led to the section of the wall under which her husband was entombed. Arriving at the spot she began to cry. She cried and cried. She cried unceasingly for many days and many nights. Her grief was so great that God had pity on her. It raised a big snow storm. The section of the wall under which Wan Xi Liang was buried collapsed, delivering forth her husband’s body.
“THE Great Wall was torn down by the tears of Meng Jiang Nv” The news spread far and wide throughout the country.
The reports of the fallen wall reached the Qin Court. Emperor Ying Zheng was shocked and in disbelief. He wanted to go and witness the spectacle for himself. He travelled north to see the woman whose tears were so powerful that they could tear down his wall.
When Emperor Ying Zheng confronted Meng Jiang Nv, he was surprised to see the bewildering beauty before him. He was awe-struck and speech deserted him. Finally, he simply said to her, “You are so beautiful. You are like a fairy. I want to marry you”.
Meng Jiang Nv responded immediately and pondered. What would she achieve if she were to accept his proposal? Nevertheless, she reluctantly agreed to marry him. But he had to grant her three wishes. Firstly, she wanted her late husband’s body to be placed in a lanmu wood coffin. Secondly, she wanted the Emperor to give her husband a state funeral. Finally he and all his ministers and generals to mourn for her husband. Emperor Ying Zheng gladly agreed to all three conditions.
The funeral was arranged exactly as Meng Jiang Nv desired. Behind the coffin walked the Emperor and all his ministers and generals. The spot she chose as her husband’s final resting place was an overhanging cliff under which was the river with roaring water. The funeral party arrived at the cliffside.
Emperor Ying Zheng and all his ministers and generals stood solemnly at the grave side of Wan Xi Liang.
With her husband finally laid to rest, Meng Jiang Nv stopped weeping. She slowly rose from her kness and with a last glance at her husband’s grave, threw herself into the bottom of the cliff. Years later, people built a shrine in her cherished memory at the very spot where she committed the ultimate sacrifice. The shrine is believed to be still standing to this today.
When all the walls were eventually connected they formed an incredibly long wall and came to be called “Wan Li Chang Cheng ” (Ten Thousand Li Long Wall). It measured more than 4800 li and became a permanent barrier separating the agricultural Han Chinese to the south and the the nomadic horse-mounted herdsmen to the north.
It is an awe-inspiring sight even after so many centries. When orbiting the globe an astronuant up in the space said, There is even a Temple ofMeng Jiang Nv, thought to have been built before the Song Dynasty (960 A.D. – 1279 A.D.) andrepaired during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. – 1644A.D.).
