This week Pegman took us to the Great Wall of China. What a fascinating place! Thanks, K. Rawson, for leading us here.
A brave man, strong and wise, I was a soldier.
Thought to be a mere peasant, I am clever. Two years ago I was raising Emperor Qin Shihuang’s ninety-nine Silkie chickens. Not one died.
I was a stealer of bread. Who can blame me? My children were starving. Perhaps they are dead.
Bravest and cleverest of all, I am a rebel. Qin Shihuang shall not rule long, for the people shall unite to take back their lives.
A whip cracks, thoughts fly from the mind of every man digging sand, loading kilns, stoking fires, hauling bricks and stumbling. Each knows there is no hope of freedom here. No rest until death helps one’s soul become one with the wall.
So, they bend their backs and think a new thought, one they are told to remember each and every day.
You belong to the Son of Heaven. You are nothing.
Silkie Chickens – aren’t they cute?
Up From the Ashes 
Great story, Lish. We see the wall and don’t think about the suffering that went into it.
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Thanks, Josh. I have a tendency to think about, “Who really built The Wall, the Pyramids, Machu Pichu?” Perhaps because I did archaeology for so many years.
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Such a thought provoking story! Indeed, if that wall could talk…
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Thanks, Karen. I found a really cool illustration of the people who built the wall that included all the men I mentioned plus a lot more, I’m sure. I almost tossed a woman into the mix. I wouldn’t be surprised.
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A good look back and reminder that these “monuments” didn’t happen without human suffering.
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Indeed. You don’t get nuthin’ for nuthin’. Thanks for reading, James.
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I like the way you’ve constructed this, so that it gives us two messages. The first has already been mentioned in the comments, that the human cost of the wall was very high. The second message, though, is more hopeful. The Emperor has brainwashed the bulk of those working on the wall, but your main character retains independence of thought, and is there as a catalyst for change in the future. So we can take hope that freedom of the human spirit will remain even under the harshest totalitarian regime.
Well written!
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You are always so generous with your comments. I do believe the last man has great hope for the future. Thank you very much. Lish
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Beautifully thought-provoking story. And the little chickens are adorable.
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Thank you. When I looked up Chinese chickens the Silkies were top on the list. They were described as having feathers as smooth and soft as silk. I would get some if we didn’t have coyotes and owls lurking around our backyard.
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Great story Alicia – you create an immediacy so elegantly, about that far off time. The last line is perfect to sum up the lot of the workers.
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Thanks very much. So many lives thrown away through history. It makes me wonder what would have happened had they lived. Another Einstein? Steven Hawking? Gandhi?
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So many people giving of their lives for this huge, emblematic structure – the stories those stones could tell! Vivid storytelling Lish
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Indeed! I’m hoping that heaven if there is one and I make it, is being able to see the entire history of our world from microbes to – whenever. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
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My pleasure Lish 🙂
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The cost of lives to build this wall was astronomical… I love the way you portray this.
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Thanks, Dale!
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Dear Lish,
Like the wall itself, your story is layered with suffering and history. Beautifully told.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you, Rochelle. I wonder how many other types of “bad people” were brought into service.
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It seems many of the monuments that man treasures most were built by the enslavement and torture of others… What does that say about us as a species? Great tale told here, Alicia. Really could feel the oppression… and yes, the chickies are cute! 🙂
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Right you are! Thanks, Jelli.
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Amazing read! It is a great reminder that many people suffer a lot so that monuments like these can looks so beautiful.
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One tends to forget, don’t they? Thanks for reading.
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