Mystery of the Great Wall
Alantha Zhan
he mystery of the Great Wall of China might never be solved.
from
gen
peo
g, Group 2: Fiction, Clearwater Bay School
I was only 10 at the time when the rumours began; The Great Wall was not only joined together
remaining fortifications of earlier periods for protection reasons, but to be a sign to later
erations from Qin Shi Huang, the very first emperor of China. He seemed to have foretold that
ple would someday forget the culture of being respectful to others, as well as keeping an inner
peace at all times. In his time, people always bowed to each other before discussions, they showed one another
manners and respect. The rumours also mentioned that if you look at the shape of the Great Wall and separate it
up into lines, then rearranging it would complete a word. That word would mean something important. It would
be the clue to the lost culture. I never knew back then, that I would actually study into a deep exploration of this
story.
T
“
Hurry up already!” Zoe complained. She was a punctual person, while I was not. According to her, we
were already running 5 minutes late (which is not a good sign) for our flight. Fortunately, we arrived just before
the gate was closed.
Immediately after we landed, the heat of the city enveloped us. It was like entering a huge furnace room. We
boarded a taxi and sped off to our hotel. Thinking about the Great Wall, I imagined how amazing it would be to
see it live.
“
Recently, I learned that there was a mystery about the Great Wall,” Zoe started.
“
What mystery?”
“
The rumours, remember? What happened to your research?” I stared at her, guiltily. “Anyways, some
rumours say that if you look with a certain perspective at a map of the Great Wall there will be a clue.”
“
Right, I remember now. Why don’t we study about that?” She agreed.
Soon, we met a problem. Many parts of the Great Wall have already been eroded for centuries. Even if we
found the character, we wouldn't be sure if it was the one Qin had intended to form.
The sound of the Erhu filled our ears as we sat down discussing about the challenge. I suggested that we
take a look at our challenge. Together, we slowly unfolded the challenge. A single piece of paper fell onto our
laps. In the middle was a riddle.
Unraveling ribbon through the bright green emeralds, lay down on delicate glass.
We were puzzled. Even Zoe who was the master of riddles was lost for words. “Unraveling ribbon and
delicate glass, what could that possibly mean?” I thought. It just made no sense. “Maybe it will become clearer
as we progress, after all, there still are 7 days left.”
“
True. Let’s focus on different things for now,” Zoe proposed.
Simultaneously, we spread out the books and information across the dining table. There were various maps
of the Great Wall built in the Qin dynasty with marker notes over them. Zoe and I decided to try and separate the
wall into different lines using various strategies. As I searched for possible ways to make characters, time went
by slowly; it felt like that every minute lasted an hour long. Eventually, the hands on the clock stroke 9. It was
late, we would continue the next day. Whilst cleaning up, a scroll fell out of a book on the Great Wall. It was an
ancient map of the Great Wall! I had a burst of inspiration, could we use this map and separate the Great Wall
according to the borders of the Qin provinces? Immediately after I did that, the word
尊
showed up. It made a
lot of sense as it means “respect.” I held the map up close and confirmed that it was. To find the word, you
couldn’t just look at a modern day map. You needed an ancient map. I danced in joy, resulting with Zoe staring
at me. I explained, proudly, to her how I think I found the clue to the lost culture using the ancient map. She
joined in with my dancing, because it meant that we would have more time to think about the riddle.
Rich golden sunshine flooded the room as we sat there considering possibilities for the solution of the
riddle. Then it hit Zoe, “IT’S THE GREAT WALL!” She shouted, startling me. “Don’t you see? Unraveling
Ribbon through the bright green emeralds, lay down on delicate glass. The ribbon is suggesting a wall twisting
through green hills, and the delicate glass meant China. How many famous walls do you know of in China?”
“
Um, one?”
“
Exactly! So it’s the Great Wall of China.”
“
Oh, I see now.” I exclaimed, “Why didn’t I notice?” Together, we hosted a celebration. We had not only
completed our challenge, but also discovered a possible answer for the mystery of the Great Wall, that
fascinated many scientists and archaeologist across the world. However, we weren’t finished yet, the end of one
thing may be the beginning of another.
***