孟姜女哭长城经典故事英文版【三篇】
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孟姜女哭长城经典故事英文版篇1
seeking her husband at the great wall
a han folktale
a little over two hundred years before our era, the first emperor of the chin dynasty ascended the throne under the name of shih huang. this emperor was very cruel towards his subjects, forcing people from every part of the country to come and build the great wall to protect his empire. work never stopped, day or night, with the people carrying heavy loads of earth and bricks under the overseers' whips, lashes, and curses. they received very little food; the clothes they wore were threadbare. so it was scarcely to be wondered at that large numbers of them died every day.
there was a young man, named wan hsi-liang, among those who had been pressed into the service of building emperor shih huang's great wall. this wan hsi-liang had a beautiful and virtuous wife, whose name was meng chiang-nu. for a long, long time after her husband was forced to leave her, meng chiang-nu had no news of him, and it saddened her to think what he must be suffering, toiling for the accursed emperor. her hatred of the wicked ruler grew apace with her longing for the husband he had torn from her side. one spring, when the flowers were in bloom and the trees budding, when the grass was a lush green, and the swallows were flying in pairs in the sky, her sorrow seemed to deepen as she walked in the fields, so she sang:
in march the peach is blossom-dressed;
swallows, mating, build their nest.
two by two they gaily fly....
left all alone, how sad am i!
but even when autumn came round, there still was no news about wan hsi-liang. it was rumored that the great wall was in building somewhere way up north where it was so cold that one would hardly dare stick one's hands out of one's sleeves. when meng chiang-nu heard this, she hurriedly made cotton-padded clothes and shoes for her husband. but who should take these to him when it was such a long way to the great wall? pondering the matter over and over, she finally decided she would take the clothes and shoes to wan hsi-liang herself.
it was rather cold when she started out. the leaves had fallen from the trees and, as the harvest had been gathered in, the fields were empty and forlornly dismal. it was very lonely for meng chiang-nu to walk all by herself, especially since she had never been away from home in her life, and did not know the way and had to ask for directions every now and then.
one evening she failed to reach a town she was going to, so she put up for the night in a little temple in a grove beside the road. having walked the whole day, she was very tired and fell asleep as soon as she lay down on a stone table. she dreamed her husband was coming towards her, and a feeling of great happiness enveloped her. but then he told her that he had died, and she cried bitterly. when she woke up in the morning, she was overwhelmed by doubts and sadness as she remembered this dream. with curses on the emperor who had torn so many families asunder, meng chiang-nu continued on her way.
one day, she came to a small inn by the side of the hilly road. the inn was kept by an old woman who, when she saw meng chiang-nu's hot face and dusty clothes, asked where she was going. when meng chiang-nu told her, she was deeply moved.
"aya!" she sighed, "the great wall is still far away from here, there are mountains and rivers to cross before you. how can a weak young woman like yourself get there?" but meng chiang-nu told the old woman she was determined to get the clothes and shoes to her husband, no matter what the difficulty. the old woman was as much touched by the younger one's willpower as she was concerned about her safety. the next day she accompanied meng chiang-nu over a distance to show her sympathy.
and so, meng chiang-nu walked on and on and on till, one day, she came to a deep valley between the mountains. the sky was overcast with gray clouds, a strong wind was blowing that chilled the air. she walked quite a long time through the valley without, however, finding a single house. all she could see were weeds, brambles and rocks. it was getting so dark that she could no longer see the road. at the foot of the mountains there was a river, running with water of a murky color. where should she go? being at her wit's end, she decided to spend the night among some bushes. as she had not eaten anything for the whole day, she shivered all the more violently in the cold. thinking of how her husband must be suffering in this icy cold weather, her heart contracted with a pain as sharp as a knife. when meng chiang-nu opened her eyes the next morning, she found to her amazement the whole valley and her own body covered with a blanket of snow. how was she to continue her travel?
while she was still quite at a loss as to what to do, a crow suddenly alighted before her. it cawed twice and flew on a short distance, then sat down again in front of her and cawed again twice. meng chiang-nu decided that the bird was inviting her to follow its direction and so she resumed her travel, a little cheered because of the company of this living thing, and she began to sing as she walked along:
thick and fast swirl round the winter snows:
i, meng chiang-nu, trudge, bearing winter clothes,
a starveling crow, alas, my only guide,
the great wall far, and i far from his side!
thus she walked past mountain ranges, crossing big rivers as well as small streams.
and thus many a dreary day had passed before she at last reached the great wall. how excited she was when she caught sight of it, meandering like a huge serpent over the mountains before her. the wind was piercingly cold and the bare mountains were covered with dry grass only, without a single tree anywhere. clusters of people were huddling against the great wall; these were the people who had been driven here to build it.
meng chiang-nu walked along the great wall, trying to find her husband among those who were toiling here. she asked after her husband, but nobody knew anything about him, so she had to go on and on inquiring.... she saw what sallow faces the toilers had, their cheekbones protruding through the skin, and she saw many dead lying about, without anybody paying any attention. her anguish over her husband's unknown fate increased, so that she shed many bitter tears as she continued her search.
at last she learned the sad truth. her husband had died long ago because of the unbearably hard toil, and his body had been put underground where he fell, under the great wall. hearing this tragic news, meng chiang-nu fell into a swoon. some of the builders tried to revive her, but it was a long while before she regained consciousness. when she did, she burst into a flood of tears, for several days on end, so that many of the toilers wept with her. so bitter was her lament that, suddenly, a length of over two hundred miles of the great wall came crumbling down, while a violent storm made the sand and bricks whirl about in the air.
"it was meng chiang-nu who, by her tears, caused the great wall to crumble!" the people along the edifice told one another with amazement, at the same time filled with hatred of the cruel emperor, who caused nothing but misery to his subjects.
when the emperor heard how meng chiang-nu had brought part of his great wall down, he immediately went to see for himself what sort of person she was. he found that she was as beautiful as a fairy, so he asked her to become his concubine. meng chiang-nu who hated him so deeply for his cruel ways would, of course, not consent to this. but she felt a ruse would serve her purpose better than frankness, so she answered amiably: "yes, i will, if you do three things for me." the emperor then asked what these three things were and meng chiang-nu said: "the first is that you bury my husband in a golden coffin with a silver lid on it; the second is that all your ministers and generals go into mourning for my husband and attend his funeral; the third is that you attend his funeral yourself, wearing deep mourning as his son would do." being so taken with her beauty, the emperor consented to her requests at once. everything was, therefore, arranged accordingly. in funeral procession, emperor shih huang walked closely behind the coffin, while a cortege of all his courtiers and generals followed him. the emperor anticipated happily the enjoyment the beautiful, new concubine would give him.
but meng chiang-nu, when she saw her husband properly buried, kowtowed before his tomb in homage to the deceased, crying bitterly for a long time. then, all of a sudden, she jumped into the river that flowed close by the tomb. the emperor was infuriated at being thwarted in his desires. he ordered his attendants to pull her out of the water again. but before they could seize her, meng chiang-nu had turned into a beautiful, silvery fish and swam gracefully out of sight, deep down into the green-blue water.
孟姜女哭长城经典故事中文版
传说很久以前江苏松江府有个孟家庄,孟家庄有一老汉善种葫芦。这一年他种的葫芦长得非常繁盛,其中一棵竟伸到了邻居姜家院里。孟、姜两家非常交好,于是便相约秋后结了葫芦一家一半。到了秋天,果然结了一个大葫芦,孟、姜两家非常高兴,把葫芦摘下来准备分享。忽听葫芦里传出一阵阵小孩的哭声,孟老汉非常奇怪,便用刀把葫芦切开一看,呀!有个小女孩端坐在葫芦中,红红的脸蛋,圆嘟嘟的小嘴,很是惹人喜爱。姜家老婆婆一看,喜欢的不得了,一把抱起来说:“这孩子就给我吧!”可是孟老汉无儿无女,非要不可,两家争执起来,一时间不可开交。到后来,只好请村里的长者来断。长者说:“你们两家已约定葫芦一家一半,那么这葫芦里的孩子就算你们两家合养吧。”于是小姑娘便成了姜孟两家的掌上明珠,因孟老汉无儿无女,便住在了孟家,取名孟姜女。
孟姜女斗转星移[1] ,日月如梭,孟姜女一天天地长大了,她心灵手巧,聪明伶俐,美丽异常,织起布来比织女,唱起歌来赛黄莺,孟老汉爱如珍宝。
这一天,孟姜女完引针线,到后花园去散心。园中荷花盛开,池水如碧,忽然一对大蝴蝶落在池边的荷叶上,吸引了她的视线,她便轻手轻脚地走过去,用扇一扑,不想用力过猛,扇子一下掉在水中。孟姜女很是气恼,便挽起衣袖,探手去捞,忽听背后有动静,急忙回头一看,原来是一个年轻公子立在树下,满面风尘,精神疲惫。孟姜女急忙找来父母。
孟老汉见年轻人私进后花园,非常生气,问道:“你是什么人,怎么敢私进我的后花园?”年轻人急忙连连请罪,诉说了原委。
原来这个年轻人名叫范喜良,本姑苏人氏,自幼读书,满腹文章。不想秦始皇修筑长城,到处抓壮丁,三丁抽一,五丁抽二,黎民百姓怨声载道。范喜良急忙乔装改扮逃了出来。刚才是因饥渴难耐,故到园中歇息,不想惊动了孟姜女,边说边连连告罪。
孟姜女见范喜良知书秉礼,忠厚老实,便芳心暗许。孟老汉对范喜良也很同情,便留他住了下来,孟姜女向爹爹言明心意,孟老汉非常赞成,便急忙来到前厅,对范喜良道:“你现在到处流落,也无定处,我想招你为婿,你意如何呀?”范喜良急忙离座辞道:“我乃逃亡之人,只怕日后连累小姐,婚姻之事万不敢想。”无奈孟姜女心意已决,非喜良不嫁,最后范喜良终于答应。孟老汉乐得嘴都合不上了,急忙和姜家商议挑选吉日,给他们完婚。
孟家庄有一无赖,平时喜欢拈花惹草,无所事事,多次上门求亲,孟老汉坚辞不允,他便怀恨在心,
孟姜女哭长城伺机报复。如今听说了范喜良之事,便偷偷地到官府去告了密,带着官兵来抓人。
这时孟家还蒙在鼓里呢,他们刚刚新婚三天,仍沉浸在喜悦之中,忽然哗啦啦一声,大门被撞开了,一群官兵冲进来,不由分说,把范喜良绳捆索绑就要带走,孟姜女急忙扑上去,被官兵一把推开,眼睁睁看着自己的夫君被官兵带走了。
自此孟姜女日夜思君,茶不思,饭不想,忧伤不已。转眼冬天来了,大雪纷纷,姜女想丈夫修长城,天寒地冻,无衣御寒,便日夜赶着缝制棉衣,边做边唱起了自编的小曲:“月儿弯弯分外明,孟姜女丈夫筑长城,哪怕万里迢迢路,送御寒衣是浓情。”
一夜之间,做好棉衣,孟姜女千里迢迢,踏上路程。一路上跋山涉水,风餐露宿,不知饥渴,不知劳累,昼夜不停地往前赶,这一日终于来到了长城脚下。
可长城下民夫数以万计,到哪里去找呢?她逢人便打听,好心的民夫告诉她,范喜良早就劳累致死,被埋在长城里筑墙了。孟姜女一听,心如刀绞,便求好心的民工引路来到了范喜良被埋葬的长城下。坐在城下,孟姜女悲愤交加:想自己千里寻夫送寒衣,尽历千难万险,到头来连丈夫的尸骨都找不到,怎不令人痛断柔肠。愈想愈悲,便向着长城昼夜痛哭,不饮不食,如啼血杜鹃,望月子规。这一哭感天动地,白云为之停步,百鸟为之噤声。直哭了是十天十夜,忽听轰隆隆一阵山响,一时间地动山摇,飞沙走石,长城崩倒了八百里,这才露出范喜良的尸骨。
长城倾倒八百里,惊动了官兵,官兵上报秦始皇。秦始皇大怒,下令把孟姜女抓来。等孟姜女被抓,秦始皇一见她生的貌美如花,便欲纳她为正宫娘娘。孟姜女说:“要我作你的娘娘,得先依我三件事:一要造长桥一座,十里长,十里阔;二要十里方山造坟墩;三要万岁披麻戴孝到我丈夫坟前亲自祭奠。”秦始皇想了想便答应了。
不几日,长桥坟墩已全都造好,秦始皇身穿麻衣,排驾起行,过长城上长桥,过了长桥来到坟前祭奠。祭毕,秦始皇便要孟姜女随他回宫。孟姜女冷笑一声道:“你昏庸残暴,害尽天下黎民,如今又害死我夫,我岂能作你的娘娘,休可妄想!”说完便怀抱丈夫遗骨,跳入了波涛汹涌的大海。一时间,浪潮滚滚,排空击岸,好像在为孟姜女悲叹。
孟姜女哭长城经典故事英文版篇3
This story happened during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). There was once an old man named Meng who lived in the southern part of the country with his wife. One spring, Meng sowed a seed of bottle gourd2 in his yard. The bottle gourd grew up bit by bit and its vines climbed over the wall and entered his neighbor Jiang's yard. Like Meng, Jiang had no children and so he became very fond of the plant. He watered and took care of the plant. With tender care of both men, the plant grew bigger and bigger and gave a beautiful bottle gourd in autumn. Jiang plucked it off the vine, and the two old men decided3 to cut the gourd and divide it by half. To their surprise when they cut the gourd a pretty and lovely girl was lying inside! They felt happy to have a child and both loved her very much, so they decided to bring the child up together. They named the girl Meng Jiangnu, which means Meng and Jiang's daughter.
As time went by, Meng Jiangnu grew up and became a beautiful young woman. She was very smart and industrious4. She took care of old Meng and Jiang's families, washing the clothes and doing the house work. People knew that Meng Jiangnu was a good girl and liked her very much. One day while playing in the yard, Meng Jiangnu saw a young man hiding in the garden. She called out to her parents, and the young man came out.
At that time, Emperor Qin Shihuang (the first emperor of Qin) announced to build the Great Wall. So lots of men were caught by the federal officials. Fan Qiliang was an intellectual man and very afraid of being caught, so he went to Meng's house to hide from the officials. Meng and Jiang liked this good-looking, honest, and good-mannered young man. They decided to wed1 their daughter to him. Both Fan Qiliang and Meng Jiangnu accepted happily, and the couple was married several days later. However, three days after their marriage, officials suddenly broke in and took Fan Qiliang away to build the Great Wall in the north of China.
It was a hard time for Meng Jiangnu after her husband was taken away - she missed her husband and cried nearly every day. She sewed warm clothes for her husband and decided to set off to look for him. Saying farewell to her parents, she packed her luggage and started her long journey. She climbed over mountains and went through the rivers. She walked day and night, slipping and falling many times, but finally she reached the foot of the Great Wall at the present Shanhaiguan Pass.
Upon her arrival, she was eager to ask about her husband. Bad news came to her, however, that Fan Qiliang had already died of exhaustion5 and was buried into the Great Wall! Meng Jiangnu could not help crying. She sat on the ground and cried and cried. Suddenly with a tremendous noise, a 400 kilometer-long (248-mile-long) section of the Great Wall collapsed6 over her bitterwail7. The workmen and supervisors8 were astonished. Emperor Qin Shihuang happened to be touring the wall at that exact time, and he was enraged9 and ready to punish the woman.
However, at the first sight of Meng Jiangnu Emperor Qin Shihuang was attracted by her beauty. Instead of killing10 her, the Emperor asked Meng Jiangnu to marry him. Suppressing her feeling of anger, Meng Jiangnu agreed on the basis of three terms. The first was to find the body of Fan Qiliang, the second was to hold a state funeral for him, and the last one was to have Emperor Qin Shihuang wear black mourning for Fan Qiliang and attend the funeral in person. Emperor Qin Shihuang thought for a while and reluctantly agreed. After all the terms were met, Emperor Qin Shihuang was ready to take her to his palace. When the guarders were not watching, she suddenly turned around and jumped into the nearby Bohai Sea.
This story tells of the hard work of Chinese commoners, as well as exposes the cruel system of hard labor11 during the reign12 of Emperor Qing Shihuang. The Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall embodied13 the power and wisdom of the Chinese nation. In memory of Meng Jiangnu, later generations built a temple, called the Jiangnu Temple, at the foot of the Great Wall in which a statue of Meng Jiangnu is located. Meng Jiangnu's story has been passed down from generation to generation.