New Tales of the Great Wall
Annika Ashley
ave you ever heard of the Legend of the Great Wall? Here is the story.
Mil
stained rivers.
Yong, Group 1: Fiction, Diocesan Preparatory School
The Jade Emperor, King of the Skies, knew that China was at war. He hoped for peace on Earth.
lions of men were killed and a great variety of buildings were destroyed. Wars created long blood-
Soldiers left their families and sacrificed their lives.
H
Thunder roared and the clouds wept .The sky became pitch dark; the air was misty. The Jade Emperor was
very troubled.
His son, Chen, knew that Ying Zheng, the King of Qin, had taken over all of China. This he told his father.
The Jade Emperor realised that China was finally united. But there was still one problem, “The Outsiders and
China is at war! What should we do to protect China?” the Jade Emperor exclaimed, worried.
Suddenly, his son suggested, “Father, please change me into a dragon, to protect China.”
“
No! Never!” The Jade Emperor shouted as his eyes widened with shock.
“
I am willing to sacrifice myself, father, I would do anything to protect China,” said he.
“
But…”the Jade Emperor sighed.
“
It’s worth the risk,” said Chen.
The Jade Emperor saw his firm gaze, and knew that he was very sure about this. So, he nodded his head
slowly. “Very well, I shall fulfill your wish.” He said, he added, “But you will have to return to heaven when the
terracotta warrior, eightieth terracotta warrior of the fifty-second row shoots an arrow, the length you will be
Eight thousand, eight hundred and fifty- two. You will have to come back to heaven at that time. And when the
sun rises you will return.”
The Jade Emperor, dressed in his traditional Chinese Imperial finery, with a dragon emblem, dipped his
fingers into a mist-shrouded sapphire magic potion. He touched Chen’s head, and murmured some melodic
words under his breath.
In the blink of an eye, Chen transformed into a huge dragon. He lept up to gracefully soar through the sky
with acrobatic moves. His golden scales sparkled under the bright sun. He had eyes of black pearls and talons of
silver.
He rested his head on a gentle slope of the emerald mountain, his body lay on a plateau, and legs were on
the wide grassland and talons on the sandy desert.
War began, the sun shone relentlessly upon the warriors, arrows fell down to the earth like rain, drums
roared, men shouted, swords and spears crashed into each other, and made a blinding flash under the sun.
Bombs exploded and killed people. Horses wailed, snorted and dashed through the crowds of infantry.
Chen sighed, the army was getting closer and closer, he was touched by the courage and bravery of
warriors, and knew his decision was correct.
So, after many years, Chen still surrounds China, protecting it…until forever.
***