According to legend, an emperor commanded the construction of a vast wall to protect his empire, forcing countless men into hard labor.
In a remote village, the Meng and Jiang families discovered a magical baby girl, Meng Jiang, in a gourd. She grew up virtuous and kind. Meng Jiang married Fan Xiliang, a man hiding from conscription. Despite their love, soldiers captured him to work on the wall.
When he didn’t return, Meng Jiang embarked on a perilous journey to find him. She learned of his death and mourned deeply, causing parts of the wall to collapse. The emperor, enraged but captivated by her beauty, proposed making her a concubine.
Meng Jiang agreed only if he held a grand funeral for her husband. After honoring her request, she defied the emperor and ended her life, leaving behind a legacy of grief, virtue, and resistance.
Vocabulary:
• Emperor: A ruler of a large empire.
• Conscript: To force someone into military or labor service.
• Virtuous: Having high moral standards.
• Frigid: Extremely cold.
• Mourn: To express sadness over someone’s death.
• Sabotage: To deliberately destroy or damage something.
• Concubine: A woman in a relationship with a man of high status, often secondary to a wife.
• Defiance: Open resistance to authority.
Source: Ted-ED