The Legendary Construction of the Dragon –
The Ultimate Truth
Wai Lok Che
he legend of the construction of the
ung, Group 3: Fiction, Ying Wa College
Great Wall in China
can be traced back to the Western Zhou
Dynasty. In the Qin Dynasty, the emperor
Qin Shihuang
ordered hislaborers to link these scattered
walls built during the period of the Warring States, and create some new sections. The wall at that time
was a dragon-like fortress designed to defend the continuous attacks from the Yanyun. The Ming
Dynasty then polished the defense of the wall and strengthened its protection system. It refined the
whole construction on a large scale.
T
Although we’ve always been told about this historical ‘fact’, as if we have been brainwashed, is this the
real version? Is it possible that there might be some misunderstanding when this version was passed among
generations? The truth is, there has been misconception about the process of the Great Wall’s construction, and
in fact, the actual version in reality differs greatly…
The Announcement…
“
Here comes the Emperor’s orders” A low and mighty voice swept through the palace. Standing on the
balcony, thirty meters away from ground, a man holding a roll of paper announced, “Our Emperor, Qin Shi
Huang, has decided to hold a grand event that will undoubtedly shock the whole kingdom. In the coming five
years, all of you are required to collect as many bricks as possible. It does not matter about the source of them –
including abandoned houses; bricks of architecture buried underground and home-made ones. No rewards will
be given temporarily, the more you get, the more benefits you will gain in the miraculous event held six years
later. The crowd gathered around the palace started to react and gossip, “What event?” “ It seems fun.” In the
meantime, the young rubbed their heads, the adults rubbed their hands, and the elderly grinned at the man,
looked confident. Within a minute, the crowd spread.
James’ collection …
After the announcement made, James, a strong-minded teenager, was determined to collect as many
bricks as he could with all his might. Although he had no idea about what the event would be about, he still
hoped that he could gather the largest amount among the whole village (He was a confident young man and was
always trying to seek for victory in every competition). In the morning, he woke up even before the cock made
its daily call, and got changed in the speed of light. Carrying a basket made of bamboos, he crept along the roads
in the village. “Ha! I’m gonna obtain all bricks before you wake up…” He whispered with a hope that he could
encounter some sort of abandoned brick houses, and so he did.
It was a seven-metre tall house with a fence surrounding it. There were thick bushes and leaves all
scattered on the ground, making it feel like a haunted house. James took a deep breath and stepped over the
fence. He used a hammer and a nail to hit hard on the parts of the wall that had holes nearby. Soon, a minute
hole appeared, then it transformed into a crack, afterwards, the bricks were loosened and James reached out his
hands to collect them, with a grin on his face.
Sometimes, in order to accomplish his mission, James dared to adopt an unfavorable method. He
crawled on the ground outside a factory at midnight, and crept into the storage room on tip-toe in the dark. Then,
when he spotted the blocks of bricks, he rapidly grabbed a few and gently placed them in his basket. Afterwards,
James backed the wall and moved along it with letting his nails scratch the wall, thinking, “Sorry…”
The event…
Time flew, and six years had passed. James and the other villagers gathered at an open and wild field,
waiting uncomplainingly for the announcements of the man in change on this big day. Guarding the blocks of
bricks with their hands, their eyes reflected their excitement and curiosity. From a far end of the field came the
man, proclaiming, “So, here come the details of the event. It’s technically a contest among the amount the bricks
you’ve discovered. You’re required to place all your bricks one by one on the field and pile them together. The
one with greatest amount is treated as the victor, and remarkably, our Emperor will offer that person an
occupation and a position in the palace.” With enthusiasm, the villagers orderly piled the bricks up one by one,
until they can’t reach the top anymore. It could be seen easily that there were contrasts in the amount – some
were enough to construct the simply-designed fortress while some could just reach a few feet high. The method
they adapted to pile the bricks up was that they stepped on one brick and added one more brick to the next