The Backbone of China
Kevin Yu, Group 2: Fiction, HKUGA Primary School
ong long ago in the ancient time of China, there were more than six small countries in the mainland.
Every country had their own king, own language, own measuring system and own culture. They were
not united. The six nations always fought with each other because their kings were greedy. They always
wanted to have more land and fortune.
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A dragon in the sky that was very kind and merciful saw what happened on the land. It felt
ly sorry for those people who suffered a lot from the endless wars. Therefore, the dragon decided
to do something to help them.
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It transformed into the emperor of Qin which was the king of one of those small countries. The dragon
was so powerful and wise that it led its kingdom, Qin, to become the strongest nation in the world. Step by step,
Qin defeated the other countries and “swallowed” them one by one. Qin became the only kingdom in the
mainland. In order to break the barriers set by those countries before, the Qin emperor gathered all his lieges.
The Qin emperor ordered, “Listen to me! Guys, from now on, you need to use the same language, the same
measuring systems and the same currency.” And he added, “Do you know that we are brothers and sisters who
came from one ancestor? We should live and work together with each other.”
Day after day, the Qin kingdom became stronger and stronger. At the same time, the emperor became older
and older. He knew it was time that he should transform back into a dragon again. At last, the day that he should
leave came. On that very day, it rained heavily and there were great storms and lightning in the sky. It was
just as if the sky was crying. Emperor Qin became a dragon again and flew to the sky. He soared through the
clouds and looked back again on his beloved land and people. The mountains were emerald green and the lakes
were blue. The landscapes were so beautiful. But at that time, most of those people were frightened by the
horrible storm that was happening at that very moment. The dragon didn’t want to leave. At last, it decided to go
back and protect its people. He prayed to God and in a flash, the dragon dropped from the sky onto the ground.
Most of its body became the Great Wall which ran along his beloved homeland.
From then on, the Great Wall just lay there. If you have a look at it on the helicopter today, you will find
out that it just looks like a dragon. In the minds of most Chinese people, the Great Wall is like the backbone of
China because it means love and protection.
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