The Legend of Meng Jiangnu
In ancient times, there lived a husband and wife known by the surname Jiang. They planted a bottle gourd, and its long vine stretched over the wall to their neighbors, the Meng family. Lo and behold, a large gourd grew on the neighbors' side. The Mengs cut it down and opened it, only to find a little girl inside. They named her Meng Jiangnü—the girl from the Meng and Jiang families.Years passed. Meng Jiangnü grew into a true beauty—like a fairy descended from heaven. One glance at her was enough to fall in love, but no one ever saw her: the Mengs were wealthy people, and they kept their daughter in a high-walled garden. No one entered the garden, and the girl was never allowed outside the gates.
Only one man, Fan Xiliang, was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of her, and soon they became loving spouses.
How did this happen? Well, here's how. At that time, Emperor Qin Shi Huang had conceived the idea of building the Great Wall, ten thousand *li* long. Countless people were conscripted, and men were seized indiscriminately. No one could count how many died there. Once taken, there was no hope of returning home. And who would want to perish for nothing? One day, the guards came for Fan Xiliang, but he managed to escape. He ran to the Mengs' house, jumped over the garden fence, and hid behind an artificial rock hill. As luck would have it, Meng Jiangnü came out with her maid to stroll in the garden. She saw colorful butterflies fluttering about and wanted to catch one. She took out a silk handkerchief and threw it, but the handkerchief missed the butterfly and fell into the pond, while the butterfly flew away. Disappointed, the girl grew tired and sat down on a large gray stone, ordering her maid to retrieve the handkerchief from the water. But the maid didn’t seem to understand, so Meng Jiangnü had to do it herself. She approached the pond and rolled up her sleeves. Just then, the maid cried out:
"Oh, what do I see!" She had noticed the young man hiding behind the hill, gazing at the lady.
Meng Jiangnü looked up, blushed, and felt ashamed: indeed, a handsome young man was hiding behind the hill on the other side. Fan Xiliang was at a loss, unsure what to do—if he ran, the guards would catch him, but staying was awkward since he didn’t know the girl. Finally, he made up his mind, stepped forward, bowed to the maid, and said:
"Please, miss, save me, save me!"
The maid, having recovered from her fright, began to scold the young man:
"Where did you come from, you vagabond?"
The young man fell to his knees and said:
"I am Fan Xiliang, hiding from the guards. I stumbled here by accident."
The maid wouldn’t let up:
"Do you know this is my lady's garden?"
The young man quickly replied:
"I didn’t know!"
Meanwhile, Meng Jiangnü had taken a liking to the young man—he was tall and handsome. Love blossomed in her heart, and she scolded the maid:
"Don’t be so rude. Let’s take him to my father, and he’ll teach him how to hide from the guards."
They took Fan Xiliang to the master of the house.
The old man looked at him: the young man was tall, handsome, and well-spoken. Whatever the old man asked, Fan Xiliang answered without hesitation. The young man pleased the old man, who decided to make him his son-in-law and arranged for the wedding to take place that very day.
Who could have guessed that before the newlyweds could enter the flower hall and bow to each other, the guards would arrive?
They took the young man away. His mother and father wept, and the whole household grieved. Meng Jiangnü vowed never to marry anyone else and to wait for Fan Xiliang.
From that day on, she harbored a bitter hatred for Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the Great Wall, and the guards who had taken her husband. Meng Jiangnü sighed heavily, her brows furrowed, and when she spoke, her voice was filled with sorrow. She spent her days in her bedroom, not eating, not drinking, not sleeping, thinking only of Fan Xiliang and longing for him. She regretted not leaving with her husband to help build the Great Wall.
Spring and summer passed, and autumn came and went. Before she knew it, the first day of the tenth lunar month had arrived. Meng Jiangnü thought about how her husband had left in light clothing and decided to bring him warm clothes. Despite her parents' and maid's attempts to dissuade her, it was all in vain. Her father had no choice but to send a servant to accompany her.
Meng Jiangnü did not adorn her face or powder herself. She tied her hair in a bun, put on a simple dress, tied a bundle of warm clothes to her back, knelt before her parents, and said:
"If I don’t find my husband, I won’t return!"
And so, Meng Jiangnü left her home.
She and the servant passed through one village, then another, crossed one field, then another, and arrived at a checkpoint. Beyond this checkpoint lay the path to the Great Wall. The official at the checkpoint took a liking to Meng Jiangnü and wanted to make her his wife, but she scolded and berated him so fiercely that he had no choice but to let her go. The official, dreaming of wealth and high rank, decided to write a report to his superiors, claiming that there was a beautiful and wise girl named Meng Jiangnü. He thought his superiors would be pleased, take the girl for themselves, and promote him. Who could have known that his superior also craved wealth and fame and would write a report to Emperor Shi Huang himself?!
Meng Jiangnü and the servant passed the checkpoint and approached a cliff. They saw that the narrow mountain path was too dangerous for two people—even one person would find it terrifying. Deep gorges lay on both sides. And then, as fate would have it, the servant conceived an evil plan. He decided to force Meng Jiangnü to become his wife.
But Meng Jiangnü was indeed clever. She wasn’t afraid. She smiled and said:
"I agree, but we need to find a matchmaker."
"Where would we find one here?" the servant scratched his head.
Meng Jiangnü smiled again, pointed to a small red flower growing in the middle of the mountain, and said:
"Let this flower be our matchmaker. Pluck it, and I’ll become your wife!"
The servant looked—the flower was enticing. He forgot about the danger, climbed down, and Meng Jiangnü pushed him! The servant—with a wolf’s heart and a dog’s guts—fell straight into the abyss.
Now the girl was all alone. She knew nothing: perhaps her husband had long since perished.
She reached the Great Wall, sat on the ground, and wept bitterly. For three days and three nights, she cried. Her tears washed away the Great Wall, and it crumbled to the ground. There, Meng Jiangnü saw her husband’s remains.
At that time, Emperor Qin Shi Huang had just received the official’s report. He wanted to make Meng Jiangnü his wife. The emperor ordered his guards to find the girl and bring her directly to the imperial court.
When Meng Jiangnü saw the emperor, her hatred for him grew even stronger, but the emperor, it must be said, took a liking to her. He ordered her to sit beside him and said:
"Become my wife, Meng Jiangnü!"
"Alright," the girl replied. "But first, fulfill three conditions."
"Not just three, but three hundred conditions—I’m ready to fulfill them. What’s the first one? Speak!"
"Allow me three months to mourn my husband."
The emperor was delighted:
"That’s easy! Mourn as much as you want! Now, tell me the second condition!"
"I want you to hold a grand funeral for my husband."
"That can be arranged," the emperor agreed. "I’ll order the finest coffin, the largest sarcophagus, and 128 poles. I’ll also have prayers recited for seven times seven—forty-nine days. Now, tell me the third condition!"
— The third? I want you to wear a simple hemp robe, a hat with a mourning ribbon, to carry the mourning flag yourself, and to order all courtiers, soldiers, and officials to wear mourning attire.
The emperor listened to the third condition and hesitated: "So, I must acknowledge myself as the son of Fan Xi-liang. But then she will become mine," the emperor immediately thought. "Well, I will acknowledge myself as the son of Fan Xi-liang!"
Thus, the emperor agreed to the third condition as well.
The day of the funeral arrived. The emperor forgot about decorum, dressed in a hemp robe, put on a hat with a mourning ribbon, and indeed, one might think—a filial son burying his father. Meng Jiang-nü was also in mourning attire, the remains were carried in a cart, and Meng Jiang-nü walked beside it. Officials, soldiers—all appeared at the funeral in mourning. Trumpets sounded, drums beat, and they proceeded to the Fan family cemetery. On the way, they encountered a river, wide and deep. Meng Jiang-nü stepped away from the cart, threw herself into the river, and drowned.
Qin Shi Huang was left with nothing, driven to madness by rage, thinking day and night about Meng Jiang-nü. And he began executing people indiscriminately. He would enter the hall and ask:
— Does the stone horse at the gate eat hay?
The minister, of course, replied:
— A stone horse cannot eat hay.
The emperor would then become enraged and shout:
— How can it not? Execute him!
And so, every day, he executed one person. The ministers trembled with fear. Among them was one honest and selfless man. His turn came to go before the emperor. He returned home gloomy, his brows furrowed.
At that time, the spirit of the star Tai-bo transformed into a poor Taoist and approached the official's house, beating a wooden clapper.
Hearing the noise, the old gatekeeper came out and said:
— Our master has a kind heart; whenever you come, he always orders to give you a measure of rice and a measure of flour. But today, you've come at a bad time—our master is in sorrow, and he has no time for you.
The Taoist replied:
— I don’t need rice or flour; I’ve come to save your master!
Hearing this, the gatekeeper hurried to his master, then returned and led the Taoist into the house. The Taoist pulled a whip from his sleeve and said to the minister:
— This is the 'drive the mountains' whip. Tomorrow, when you go to the palace, hide it in your sleeve. When the emperor asks you, 'Does the stone horse eat hay?' Say, 'It does,' and wave the whip. The horse will immediately begin to eat hay. And also tell him that with this whip, you can drive mountains and that it will help find Meng Jiang-nü.
Having said this, he disappeared. The next day, the minister hid the whip in his sleeve and went to the palace.
The emperor asked him:
— Does the stone horse eat hay?
— It does, replied the minister.
The courtiers were amazed, frozen in place. Qin Shi Huang asked again:
— How can a stone horse eat hay?
The minister replied:
— If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.
Everyone rushed to the gate, the grooms brought hay, and threw it to the stone horse. The minister's heart pounded: "What if it doesn’t work? Well, I’ll die anyway!" Thinking this, the minister waved his sleeve and shouted loudly:
— Eat the hay, chew the hay. Eat the hay, chew the hay!
Lo and behold—the horse really began to chew the hay. Everyone clapped and cheered. The emperor asked the minister to explain the trick. The minister handed the whip to the emperor and told him everything as the Taoist had instructed.
Qin Shi Huang cheered up, left the palace, and set off to search for Meng Jiang-nü. He drove small mountains into rivers, large ones into the sea. He rushed east, then west.
The Dragon King of the Four Seas grew alarmed: strange things were happening all around, and the crystal palace was ringing. He urgently sent two little dragons, sea guards, to find out what was going on. They returned and reported:
— Emperor Shi Huang is waving the 'drive the mountains' whip, searching for Meng Jiang-nü! A terrible danger threatens our palace. Any moment now, a mountain might fall right on the roof!
The Dragon King panicked, and all the fish army, crabs, and shrimp trembled with fear. They needed to escape, but where to? Meng Jiang-nü was dead, and no one knew where her body had gone.
At that moment, the Dragon King's daughter entered the hall—everything around her sparkled with beauty—and said:
— Father, I want to save you from this calamity!
The king asked:
— How will you do that, my daughter?
— Allow me to transform into Meng Jiang-nü. When the emperor sees me, he will stop driving the mountains.
The king was saddened to part with his daughter, but he had no choice and agreed.
The emperor was driving a mountain when suddenly he saw a drowned woman in the water. He pulled her out, and it was Meng Jiang-nü. He touched her—her chest was still warm. The emperor rejoiced, revived the girl, returned to the palace with her, and made her his wife.
A year later, they had a son, and then the wife told the emperor that she was not Meng Jiang-nü but the Dragon King's daughter and had to return to her palace. One night, she stole the magical whip from Shi Huang, took her son, and left the palace. She abandoned her son in distant mountains and jumped into the water.
An old tigress lived in the mountains; she saw the infant and began to feed him with her milk. A year later, she carried him to a main road and left him there.
Nearby lived an old man and old woman, nicknamed Xiang. They had no sons or daughters and worked day and night making tofu. Every morning, the old man went to sell it. One day, as he walked, he saw a little boy lying on the road. The old man picked him up and joyfully returned home. The boy grew up with a huge head, long ears, and such strength that he could overturn a mountain. After all, he was born to the Dragon King's daughter and nursed by a tigress.
The old man named him Xiang Yu. Years passed, and Xiang Yu became the ruler of Chu. He destroyed the Qin dynasty and avenged Meng Jiang-nü and Fan Xi-liang.
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