The Great Walled Ghost
Richard Cheung, Group 3: Fiction, Creative Secondary School
he sun rose over the far horizon and shone its optimistically blinding light over ‘the land of dragons’,
but nobody in the village seemed to have been bothered by the glorious entrance of the fiery character;
it’s too common, it occurs every day. However, directly under the blazing monumental rise of the
golden droplet were vague projections of two armoured men riding towards the village from the
distance. Their shadows became clearer each step they took and the villagers’ eyes were widened by every slash
of the whip.
The Ming Emperor had laid out orders for the restoration and revival of the Great Wall to the northern
border of China and he had spread his imperial tentacles all over the country for the collection of workers to
graft on his marvellous project. The two men galloped into the village with a swift entrance, their knotted hair
and their neatly pressed clothing of vivid colours seemed to give a majestic flair to their arrival. The paler man
with a bold, prickly dark beard dismounted from his horse heavily on to a soggy paddy field. The tender mix of
rice and water bothered him not; he simply glared at his companion, pointed at the individual thatched houses,
and held his position. Soon after, rugged men of all sorts poured into the field reluctantly under the usher of the
emperor’s men. Each individual was examined by the bearded man.
“
Lame,” he said as he walked past a poorly postured elderly man, whose snowy brows speared longer than
his beard.
“
This one’s a terrible worker,” he growled at another. His companion was scribbling away through his
papers as the bearded man made each criticism.
The two men continued to race through the many options they had; they assessed the developing bodies of
naive young farmers, to the portentous philosopher of the village, but they still weren’t impressed. Hours
sneaked past the unsuspecting men until the punishing heat of midday arrived, that was when one surprising
man rushed and splashed his way through the fields. It was Wang, the famed traveller, and slacker, of the village.
“
What’s with the gathering?” enquired Wang with arrogance. However, it did not seem to detract the
examiners’ undivided attention.
“
Do you see the young fellow over to your right?” whispered the assistant to the bearded man in a casual
tone. The bearded man uninterestedly turned his head over slightly; he was not expecting anything, however, he
was instantly captured by the late arrival’s bulging curves and shocking muscular body structure; he was the
perfect solution for the Emperor’s imperial demand.
“
I think that we have this place settled, Cheng,” said the bearded man to his partner roughly, “dismiss the
rest.” The two men then took the chosen workers back to the worksite as the crowd dissolved into what was then,
a fading day.
* * *
Nothing can be said of the worksite situated along a long, weary fortress of the old Great Wall, the scene
was as depressing as the horrified men were. Everybody had a compelling frown hung from their faces as a sign
of greeting. Wang marched towards the wall, taking no notice of the men to either side. Then he picked up a
chisel, and started to chip away at the rain-washed remnants of the Qin Great Wall.
The following night, the newcomers were introduced to a scheduled patrol system. It was said that each
labourer would have to take turns to survey the wall for the labourers’ safety. Wang was instructed to take
stance and guard the succeeding night.
The next evening, Wang crept into a tight shelter for a simple supper with his mates before reporting for his
night duty. He sat beside a group of elders that had gathered around in a circle, all of them had stories to share.
One particularly popular story teller was Jiao; he was incredibly recognisable for his sharp forehead and dark-
tanned skin, with an impressive clawed-scar on his wrinkly face. As everyone started to gather, he announced
that he was going to tell a ghost story about the ‘walled ghost’.
“
There was once a lonely and lowly man,” said the man in a low tone, “he had just finished his schooling,
and his parents had found him a wife, perfect for his kind. She was marvellous, a true beauty; her face reminded
one of the joyfulness of life, and seemed to be a flame that lit the sparks of life. However, just when he was
about to marry the young lady, the Qin army rode into his village and took him captive to feed the Emperor’s
massive craving for workers. He was sent to serve at the Great Wall and it certainly wasn’t an easy life there. He
was frequently beaten by guards and soldiers alike. It was said that even his workmates picked on him for his
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