Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor · chapter 5 of 5
The Clay Army
泥兵和仙药
Xu Fu sails east and the emperor waits. Then the clay army takes shape. In 1974, a girl looks at the faces and learns what to remember.
Read what you hear
- Xu Fu 皇帝，船准备好了！我们要走了！
Huángdì, chuán zhǔnbèi hǎo le! Wǒmen yào zǒu le!
Emperor, the ship is ready! We are leaving!
- Qin Shi Huang 徐福，你要快点回来。我等你。
Xú Fú, nǐ yào kuài diǎn huílái. Wǒ děng nǐ.
Xu Fu, come back quickly. I will wait for you.
- Xu Fu 我一定带仙药回来！三年，只要三年！
Wǒ yídìng dài xiānyào huílái! Sān nián, zhǐyào sān nián!
I will bring the magic medicine back! Three years, only three years!
Chapter 5 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.
- Qin Shi Huang 好。三年。我数着。
Hǎo. Sān nián. Wǒ shǔ zhe.
Good. Three years. I will count.
- Narrator 大船向东走。海很大，船越走越小。
Dà chuán xiàng dōng zǒu. Hǎi hěn dà, chuán yuè zǒu yuè xiǎo.
The big ship sailed east. The sea was wide, and the ship grew smaller and smaller.
- Qin Shi Huang 一年了。船还没有回来。
Yì nián le. Chuán hái méiyǒu huílái.
One year. The ship hasn't come back.
- Qin Shi Huang 两年了……三年了……
Liǎng nián le… sān nián le…
Two years… three years…
- Qin Shi Huang 徐福！你在哪儿？
Xú Fú! Nǐ zài nǎr?
Xu Fu! Where are you?
- Qin Shi Huang 海那么大。也许他找到山了。也许……没有山。
Hǎi nàme dà. Yěxǔ tā zhǎo dào shān le. Yěxǔ… méiyǒu shān.
The sea is so wide. Maybe he found the mountain. Maybe… there is no mountain.
- Qin Shi Huang 我不能再等了。
Wǒ bù néng zài děng le.
I can't wait any longer.
- Li Si 皇帝，请休息一下。
Huángdì, qǐng xiūxi yíxià.
Emperor, please rest for a while.
- Qin Shi Huang 李斯，我睡觉的地方，做好了吗？
Lǐ Sī, wǒ shuìjiào de dìfang, zuò hǎo le ma?
Li Si, is the place where I will sleep ready?
- Li Si 快好了，皇帝。里面有很多泥兵。
Kuài hǎo le, huángdì. Lǐmiàn yǒu hěn duō ní bīng.
Almost, Emperor. There are many clay soldiers inside.
- Qin Shi Huang 泥兵？他们是什么样的？
Ní bīng? Tāmen shì shénme yàng de?
Clay soldiers? What are they like?
- Li Si 每个泥兵的脸，都不一样。
Měi gè ní bīng de liǎn, dōu bù yíyàng.
Every clay soldier's face is different.
- Qin Shi Huang 好。他们会站在我的身边。
Hǎo. Tāmen huì zhàn zài wǒ de shēnbiān.
Good. They will stand beside me.
- Li Si 他们会站很多很多年，皇帝。
Tāmen huì zhàn hěn duō hěn duō nián, huángdì.
They will stand for many, many years, Emperor.
- Qin Shi Huang 我不想一个人……
Wǒ bù xiǎng yí gè rén…
I don't want to be alone…
- Narrator 皇帝睡着了，再也没有醒来。
Huángdì shuìzháo le, zài yě méiyǒu xǐng lái.
The emperor fell asleep and never woke again.
- Li Si 徐福的船……一直没有回来。
Xú Fú de chuán… yìzhí méiyǒu huílái.
Xu Fu's ship… never did come back.
- Xiao Lan 爷爷，你看！他们的脸，都不一样！
Yéye, nǐ kàn! Tāmen de liǎn, dōu bù yíyàng!
Grandpa, look! Their faces are all different!
- Lao Yang 是啊。这个在笑，那个在想。
Shì a. Zhège zài xiào, nàge zài xiǎng.
Yes. This one is smiling, and that one is thinking.
- Xiao Lan 徐福呢？他回来了吗？
Xú Fú ne? Tā huílái le ma?
What about Xu Fu? Did he come back?
- Lao Yang 没有。没有人知道他去了哪儿。
Méiyǒu. Méiyǒu rén zhīdào tā qù le nǎr.
No. Nobody knows where he went.
- Xiao Lan 皇帝做了很多大事，可是很多人很苦。
Huángdì zuò le hěn duō dà shì, kěshì hěn duō rén hěn kǔ.
The emperor did many big things, but many people suffered.
- Lao Yang 对。一样的字，一样的钱，还有长城……有好，也有不好。
Duì. Yíyàng de zì, yíyàng de qián, hái yǒu Chángchéng… yǒu hǎo, yě yǒu bù hǎo.
Right. The same writing, the same money, the Great Wall… some good, and some not good.
- Lao Yang 小兰，这些都是真的。你要记住。
Xiǎolán, zhèxiē dōu shì zhēn de. Nǐ yào jìzhù.
Xiaolan, all of it is true. You must remember it.
- Xiao Lan 我记住了！爷爷，我们快去告诉大家吧！
Wǒ jìzhù le! Yéye, wǒmen kuài qù gàosu dàjiā ba!
I will! Grandpa, let's go tell everyone!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How long does Xu Fu promise to be gone?
“三年，只要三年！”
- What is special about the clay soldiers?
“每个泥兵的脸，都不一样。”
- Why does the emperor want the clay soldiers?
“他们会站在我的身边。”……“我不想一个人……”
- What happened to Xu Fu's ship?
“徐福的船……一直没有回来。”
- What does Xiao Lan say about the emperor?
“皇帝做了很多大事，可是很多人很苦。”