New Tales of the Great Wall
Keith Sheung Chit Yuen, Group 3: Fiction, Diocesan Boys' School
uo was a descendent of the Tang dynasty emperors, the great-great-great grandson of the first Tang
dynasty. A descendant from the royal family must be really wealthy, living in the capital, and
respected by everyone, Guo’s case was different. When the present emperor was in reign, Guo Senior
(
Guo’s father) had deliberately offended the Tang laws, which was a set of rules set by the first Tang
emperor, by killing the second-hand of the present emperor because of some conflicts of interest. The
emperor then banned Guo Senior and his whole family away from the capital, forbidding them to enter the
capital or their heads will be chopped.
Guo grew up in a poor family due to the banishment. His father died because of sadness, his mother died
with his father, therefore nobody close to him was left to raise him up. Before Guo’s parents’ suicide, Guo was
left alone in the busiest market in Wuhan City. The pedestrians all walked pass crying baby Guo without a
slightest look. What they only cared were the coins and jewelleries they were holding. Guo was placed in a
basket with his full name written on it. An old man had picked up crying Guo and brought him home.
Twenty years flew by and the old man died. Guo had grown in to a tall and muscular young man, filled
with courage and the spirit to help his country that is poor and weak due to natural hazards. He didn’t know
about his royal background, until he found his name in a famous book “The Royal Family”. The book was about
the royal family Tang and their history, including all the names of royal family members. When he discovered
his royal background and the banishment of his family, he had this instinct to walk all the way up to the capital
and talk to the emperor. The best way was to seek help from the local governor.
After the banishment of Guo and his family, the emperor had issued a memo that all local governors
should put Guo in prison if he was found, so Guo was put to prison not knowing what he had done. Guo spent 3
nights in the local prison before finding a crack between the walls and escaped. During those three days and
nights, he spent most of his time talking to an old man who spent most of his life in this prison because of some
law he broke. The old man was a storyteller, he likes to talk and criticize every policy and decisions the Tang
Government made, so one day a bunch of soldiers brought him to prison. After hearing the old man’s story, Guo
knows every suffering and worry of the peasants, and that increased his eagerness to talk to the Emperor. After
breaking out of the prison, Guo stole a horse and began a long travel to the capital. After three weeks of riding,
he found out that the soldiers had discovered him, on the other hand, the capital is near.
Guo then hid in a forest, but the soldiers could follow him into the woods too. With the addition of the
foggy atmosphere and misty air, Guo could feel the soldiers’ presence, he could feel the intensity. “Where the
hell is that bastard?” said one of the soldiers, “I’m gonna find him and punish him for what he had done to my
country.” Guo was scared, the knife with blood stains was his only friend. The soldiers were nearing, his only
escape route was to leap over the fast-flowing river. Guo could now hear the “CLINGS” sounds produced by the
soldiers, soon, one of them discovered Guo, “Hey Guo, stay there, we’re coming…” At that very moment, Guo
managed to get himself in the chilly breeze brought by the rapid water flow, but the other side is still far away.
BAAM! Guo reached the other side of the river. Thanks to his intense training from his teenage hood, he
was able to jump across. One of he soldiers tried, but landed on the rapid river. Guo continued his journey to the
capital with soldiers at the other side of the river, figuring a way to cross the river. Guo kept walking and
walking, until it was dark. He found an inn to stay for the night, but it was old and empty, the only worker also
owner was an old lady. “How may I help you?” asked the old lady. “I would like to spend the night here, how
much would that cost?” asked Guo. “Oh! For you, young man, would be no charge” replied the old lady with a
weak smile. “Why?” wondered Guo. “I could see the passion in your soul, you must be a foreigner travelling all
the way to the capital trying to bring something to the king. You must be filled with a strong sense of
responsibility to bring this country up and that’s why you travelled all the way up here. Am I right?” said the old
lady. “Yes, but how could you tell?” asked Guo. The old lady answered, “Oh! Believe me I have been working
here since the first Tang emperor, I have seen many young man travelling all the way to the capital, but most of
them didn’t have a strong soul like you. Following your heart is the right path for everyone. I must go to bed
now, if you will excuse me.” The old lady began lifting her legs and disappeared into the dark hallway. Guo
has been thinking about what the old lady had said and was trying to figure out what she meant about the strong
soul of his, he eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, Guo could not find the old lady, he dropped the money and left. After a day of
travelling, he reached the emperor, he talked about all the complaints of the people, but the emperor had not
listened to him all day long. At last the emperor gave him a job as a captain of soldiers fighting at the Great
G