The story of Lady Meng Jiang is one of China's Four Great Folktales, a tragic love story set during the brutal Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE). It tells of a woman's unwavering devotion to her husband, who was forced to labor on the Great Wall, and her powerful grief that, according to legend, brought a section of the mighty wall crashing down. It's a poignant tale of resilience against tyranny, deeply ingrained in Chinese culture.
The Story Begins...
After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, he feared rebellion from the people. He adopted policies like "burning books and burying scholars alive" to control thought. A young man named Wan Xiliang, unwilling to burn his beloved books, escaped and hid in the garden of Elder Meng. Elder Meng and his wife grew fond of Wan Xiliang and arranged for him to marry their daughter, Meng Jiang Nü (Lady Meng Jiang). However, the authorities eventually discovered this, captured Wan Xiliang, and exiled him to the frontier to build the Great Wall.
Meng Jiang Nü missed her husband and quickly made him warm clothes. She traveled thousands of miles to find Wan Xiliang. When she arrived at the Great Wall, she saw piles of white bones. Believing her husband must have passed away, she wept bitterly. Unexpectedly, her cries caused a section of the Great Wall to collapse. Emperor Qin Shi Huang then forced Meng Jiang Nü to enter his palace. Meng Jiang Nü seized the opportunity to demand that he build an altar to commemorate Wan Xiliang and the hundreds of thousands of laborers who had died. During the ceremony, Meng Jiang Nü denounced Emperor Qin Shi Huang as a tyrant whose reign would not last, and then threw herself into the river to commit suicide.
- Emperor Qin Shi Huang (then King Ying Zheng) had just unified the six warring states and aspired to be the ultimate ruler. He gathered his ministers to solicit their opinions on his new title.
2. Li Si, one of his ministers, immediately suggested he be called "Tai Huang" (Grand Emperor).
3. However, King Qin was not fond of the character "Tai." Stroking the head of his young son, Hu Hai, he decided to call himself "Shi Huang" (First Emperor), hoping that his descendants would rule for generations – a second, a third, and tens of thousands of generations.
4. Emperor Qin Shi Huang fantasized that the world would forever belong to his family. Fearing rebellion, he ordered the confiscation of all weapons and raw iron that could be used to forge weapons from the common people.
5. In his capital, Xianyang, Emperor Qin Shi Huang used the iron collected from the people to hire artisans who forged 12 colossal iron statues. These he placed outside his palace gates, as a symbol of his power and to intimidate the populace.
6. He also feared that scholars who had read ancient texts might use historical references to oppose him. So, he had them arrested and buried alive in what became known as "burning books and burying scholars."
7. He renamed the common people "Black Heads," a derogatory term to emphasize their subservience. If two people were overheard whispering in the street, he immediately assumed they were speaking ill of him and had them arrested and executed.
8. At that time, nomadic tribes like the Xiongnu frequently invaded the northern borders. Emperor Qin Shi Huang dispatched General Meng Tian to attack them.
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