Lady Meng Jiang · chapter 1 of 5
The Girl from the Gourd
葫芦里的女孩
Meng Jiangnu was found inside a gourd, and two families call her their daughter. But far to the north, the emperor wants young men for his wall.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久以前，孟家和姜家住在一个小村子里。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Mèng jiā hé Jiāng jiā zhù zài yí gè xiǎo cūnzi lǐ.
Long ago, the Meng family and the Jiang family lived in the same little village.
- Narrator 两家中间，只有一面不高的墙。墙上长着很多葫芦。
Liǎng jiā zhōngjiān, zhǐ yǒu yí miàn bù gāo de qiáng. Qiáng shang zhǎngzhe hěn duō húlu.
Only a low wall stood between their two houses, and gourds grew all over it.
- Meng Jiangnu's father 姜女，又在给葫芦浇水啊？
Jiāngnǚ, yòu zài gěi húlu jiāo shuǐ a?
Jiangnu, watering the gourds again?
- Meng Jiangnu 是啊，爸爸！你看，今年的葫芦又大又多。
Shì a, bàba! Nǐ kàn, jīnnián de húlu yòu dà yòu duō.
Yes, Dad! Look, this year's gourds are so big, and there are so many of them.
- Meng Jiangnu's father 我们家的葫芦，年年都长得好。最好的一个，就是你！
Wǒmen jiā de húlu, niánnián dōu zhǎng de hǎo. Zuì hǎo de yí gè, jiù shì nǐ!
Our gourds grow well every year. But the best one we ever got is you!
- Meng Jiangnu 爸爸，你又要讲那个故事了？
Bàba, nǐ yòu yào jiǎng nàge gùshi le?
Dad, are you going to tell that story again?
- Meng Jiangnu's father 你不想听吗？
Nǐ bù xiǎng tīng ma?
Don't you want to hear it?
- Meng Jiangnu 想！听了一百遍，我还想听。
Xiǎng! Tīng le yìbǎi biàn, wǒ hái xiǎng tīng.
I do! I've heard it a hundred times, and I still want to hear it.
- Meng Jiangnu's father 十八年前，我在墙边种了葫芦。它长啊长，长过了墙，长到了姜家。
Shíbā nián qián, wǒ zài qiáng biān zhòng le húlu. Tā zhǎng a zhǎng, zhǎng guò le qiáng, zhǎng dào le Jiāng jiā.
Eighteen years ago, I planted a gourd by the wall. It grew and grew, over the wall and into the Jiangs' yard.
- Meng Jiangnu's father 秋天，墙上长出一个很大很大的葫芦。我们两家一起打开它……
Qiūtiān, qiáng shang zhǎng chū yí gè hěn dà hěn dà de húlu. Wǒmen liǎng jiā yìqǐ dǎkāi tā…
That fall, the biggest gourd you ever saw grew on top of the wall. Our two families opened it together…
- Meng Jiangnu 里边有一个小女孩！
Lǐbian yǒu yí gè xiǎo nǚhái!
And inside was a baby girl!
- Meng Jiangnu's father 对！孟家想要她，姜家也想要她。所以，我们叫她孟姜女。
Duì! Mèng jiā xiǎng yào tā, Jiāng jiā yě xiǎng yào tā. Suǒyǐ, wǒmen jiào tā Mèng Jiāngnǚ.
That's right! The Mengs wanted her, and so did the Jiangs. So we named her Meng Jiangnu, the Meng-Jiang girl.
- Meng Jiangnu 孟家的女儿，也是姜家的女儿。我有两个家，真好！
Mèng jiā de nǚ'ér, yě shì Jiāng jiā de nǚ'ér. Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiā, zhēn hǎo!
A daughter of the Mengs, and a daughter of the Jiangs. I have two homes. How lucky am I?
- Meng Jiangnu's father 你今年十八岁了，也该找一个好丈夫了。
Nǐ jīnnián shíbā suì le, yě gāi zhǎo yí gè hǎo zhàngfu le.
You're eighteen this year. It's about time you found a good husband.
- Meng Jiangnu 爸爸！我不要丈夫。我哪儿也不去，就和你在一起。
Bàba! Wǒ bú yào zhàngfu. Wǒ nǎr yě bú qù, jiù hé nǐ zài yìqǐ.
Dad! I don't want a husband. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you.
- Meng Jiangnu's father 唉，现在村子里，哪儿还有年轻人？今天，官兵又来了。
Āi, xiànzài cūnzi lǐ, nǎr hái yǒu niánqīngrén? Jīntiān, guānbīng yòu lái le.
Ah… are there any young men left in this village now? The officers came again today.
- Meng Jiangnu 官兵？他们来做什么？
Guānbīng? Tāmen lái zuò shénme?
Officers? What did they want?
- Meng Jiangnu's father 秦始皇要在北边修长城。年轻的男人，都要去。
Qín Shǐhuáng yào zài běibian xiū Chángchéng. Niánqīng de nánrén, dōu yào qù.
The First Emperor is building the Great Wall up north. Every young man has to go.
- Meng Jiangnu 长城？那是什么？
Chángchéng? Nà shì shénme?
The Great Wall? What's that?
- Meng Jiangnu's father 一面很长很长的墙。去修长城的人，很多都回不来了。
Yí miàn hěn cháng hěn cháng de qiáng. Qù xiū Chángchéng de rén, hěn duō dōu huí bu lái le.
A wall that goes on and on. Many of the men who go to build it never come home.
- Meng Jiangnu 我们的墙，让两家人在一起。皇帝的墙，为什么让那么多家人分开？
Wǒmen de qiáng, ràng liǎng jiā rén zài yìqǐ. Huángdì de qiáng, wèishénme ràng nàme duō jiārén fēnkāi?
Our wall brings two families together. So why does the emperor's wall tear so many families apart?
- Narrator 那天晚上，孟家的后花园里，多了一个人……
Nà tiān wǎnshang, Mèng jiā de hòu huāyuán lǐ, duō le yí gè rén…
That night, there was someone in the Mengs' back garden who had not been there before…
What changed in the story?
- What grows on the wall between the two houses?
“墙上长着很多葫芦。”
- In her father's story, where did Meng Jiangnu come from?
“墙上长出一个很大很大的葫芦……里边有一个小女孩！”
- Why is she called Meng Jiangnu?
“孟家想要她，姜家也想要她。所以，我们叫她孟姜女。”
- What does Meng Jiangnu say when her father mentions a husband?
“我不要丈夫。我哪儿也不去，就和你在一起。”
- Why did the officers come to the village?
“秦始皇要在北边修长城。年轻的男人，都要去。”