Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor · chapter 3 of 5
One Writing, One Money
一样的字和钱
The new emperor fixes the mess of seven kinds of money and writing. Then he looks north and asks his general for something huge.
Read what you hear
- Qin Shi Huang 李斯，以后大家要叫我皇帝！
Lǐ Sī, yǐhòu dàjiā yào jiào wǒ huángdì!
Li Si, from now on everyone must call me Emperor!
- Li Si 是，皇帝！您好，皇帝！
Shì, huángdì! Nín hǎo, huángdì!
Yes, Emperor! Hello, Emperor!
- Qin Shi Huang 你说了两次“皇帝”。好听！
Nǐ shuō le liǎng cì “huángdì”. Hǎotīng!
You said “Emperor” twice. It sounds nice!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Li Si 皇帝，请看这些钱。这是七个国的钱。
Huángdì, qǐng kàn zhèxiē qián. Zhè shì qī gè guó de qián.
Emperor, please look at this money. It comes from seven countries.
- Qin Shi Huang 这个像刀，那个是圆的。为什么这么多？
Zhège xiàng dāo, nàge shì yuán de. Wèishénme zhème duō?
This one looks like a knife, and that one is round. Why so many?
- Li Si 他们的钱都不一样。买东西的人，要带很多很多钱。
Tāmen de qián dōu bù yíyàng. Mǎi dōngxi de rén, yào dài hěn duō hěn duō qián.
Their money is all different. Shoppers have to carry lots and lots of it.
- Qin Shi Huang 太累了！我们都用一样的钱：圆的，中间有一个方方的洞。
Tài lèi le! Wǒmen dōu yòng yíyàng de qián: yuán de, zhōngjiān yǒu yí gè fāngfāng de dòng.
That's exhausting! We'll all use the same money: round, with a square hole in the middle.
- Li Si 太好了，皇帝！再请看这个“马”字。
Tài hǎo le, huángdì! Zài qǐng kàn zhège “mǎ” zì.
Wonderful, Emperor! Now look at this word for “horse.”
- Qin Shi Huang 这三个都是“马”？这个像一只鸡！
Zhè sān gè dōu shì “mǎ”? Zhège xiàng yì zhī jī!
These three are all “horse”? This one looks like a chicken!
- Li Si 哈哈，是的，皇帝。他们这样写，我们那样写。
Hāhā, shì de, huángdì. Tāmen zhèyàng xiě, wǒmen nàyàng xiě.
Ha ha, yes, Emperor. They write it this way, and we write it that way.
- Qin Shi Huang 从今天起，大家都写一样的字。李斯，你来写！
Cóng jīntiān qǐ, dàjiā dōu xiě yíyàng de zì. Lǐ Sī, nǐ lái xiě!
From today, everyone writes the same words. Li Si, you do the writing!
- Li Si 我来写。这样，所有人都看得懂。
Wǒ lái xiě. Zhèyàng, suǒyǒu rén dōu kàn de dǒng.
I will. That way, everyone can read.
- Qin Shi Huang 车也是。有的车大，有的车小。
Chē yě shì. Yǒu de chē dà, yǒu de chē xiǎo.
Carts too. Some carts are big, some are small.
- Li Si 路上的车，常常过不去。
Lù shàng de chē, chángcháng guò bu qù.
On the road, carts often can't get past each other.
- Qin Shi Huang 车一样大，路就好走了。
Chē yíyàng dà, lù jiù hǎo zǒu le.
If the carts are the same size, the road is easier.
- Li Si 一个国，一样的字，一样的钱，一样的车。皇帝，这太好了！
Yí gè guó, yíyàng de zì, yíyàng de qián, yíyàng de chē. Huángdì, zhè tài hǎo le!
One country, one writing, one money, the same carts. Emperor, this is wonderful!
- Narrator 皇帝走到山上，看着北边。
Huángdì zǒu dào shān shàng, kànzhe běibian.
The emperor climbed a hill and looked north.
- Qin Shi Huang 蒙恬！
Méng Tián!
Meng Tian!
- Meng Tian 皇帝！我在这儿。
Huángdì! Wǒ zài zhèr.
Emperor! I am here.
- Qin Shi Huang 你看北边。那里的人，常常骑马来。
Nǐ kàn běibian. Nàlǐ de rén, chángcháng qí mǎ lái.
Look north. The people there often come riding horses.
- Meng Tian 是的。他们来得快，走得也快。
Shì de. Tāmen lái de kuài, zǒu de yě kuài.
Yes. They come fast, and they leave fast.
- Qin Shi Huang 我们不能天天打。我要一个东西。
Wǒmen bù néng tiāntiān dǎ. Wǒ yào yí gè dōngxi.
We can't fight every day. I want something.
- Meng Tian 什么东西，皇帝？
Shénme dōngxi, huángdì?
What is it, Emperor?
- Qin Shi Huang 墙！一个长长的墙！
Qiáng! Yí gè cháng cháng de qiáng!
A wall! A very long wall!
- Meng Tian 墙？皇帝，要多长？
Qiáng? Huángdì, yào duō cháng?
A wall? Emperor, how long?
- Qin Shi Huang 很长很长！从这座山，走到那座山，还要更远！
Hěn cháng hěn cháng! Cóng zhè zuò shān, zǒu dào nà zuò shān, hái yào gèng yuǎn!
Very, very long! From this mountain to that mountain, and even farther!
- Meng Tian 那要很多很多人啊。
Nà yào hěn duō hěn duō rén a.
That would take very, very many people.
- Qin Shi Huang 我要一个长长的墙，从西边的山，一直到东边的海！
Wǒ yào yí gè cháng cháng de qiáng, cóng xībian de shān, yìzhí dào dōngbian de hǎi!
I want a long wall, from the mountains in the west all the way to the sea in the east!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the emperor want one kind of money?
“他们的钱都不一样。买东西的人，要带很多很多钱。”……“太累了！”
- What does the emperor say about one of the ways to write “horse”?
“这三个都是‘马’？这个像一只鸡！”
- What problem do the carts have?
“有的车大，有的车小。”……“路上的车，常常过不去。”
- Why does the emperor look north?
“那里的人，常常骑马来。”
- What does the emperor ask Meng Tian to build?
“我要一个长长的墙，从西边的山，一直到东边的海！”