Qin Shi Huang: Unifying China · chapter 1 of 8
The Well in the Dry Field
井里的泥兵
In a dry summer, a farmer and his granddaughter dig a new well and hit a clay head. It leads to a two-thousand-year-old story, and it starts with a merchant who bought a prince.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 一九七四年的夏天，天气热得像火一样，已经很久没有下雨了。
Yī jiǔ qī sì nián de xiàtiān, tiānqì rè de xiàng huǒ yíyàng, yǐjīng hěn jiǔ méiyǒu xiàyǔ le.
It was the summer of 1974. The weather was hot as fire, and it hadn't rained in a very long time.
- Xiao Lan 爷爷，田里的地都裂开了，我们家的旧井里，也一点儿水都没有了！
Yéye, tián lǐ de dì dōu lièkāi le, wǒmen jiā de jiù jǐng lǐ, yě yìdiǎnr shuǐ dōu méiyǒu le!
Grandpa, the ground in the field is all cracked, and our old well doesn't have a drop of water either!
- Lao Yang 所以我们要挖一口新井。小兰，把桶递给我，再拿一根绳子来。
Suǒyǐ wǒmen yào wā yì kǒu xīn jǐng. Xiǎolán, bǎ tǒng dì gěi wǒ, zài ná yì gēn shéngzi lái.
So we're digging a new well. Xiao Lan, hand me the bucket, and bring a rope too.
- Xiao Lan 爷爷，你一直往下挖，会挖到地球的那一边吗？
Yéye, nǐ yìzhí wǎng xià wā, huì wā dào dìqiú de nà yì biān ma?
Grandpa, if you keep digging down, will you get to the other side of the world?
- Lao Yang 哈哈，那要挖好几年呢！爷爷现在只想先挖到水，好浇我们的菜地。
Hāha, nà yào wā hǎo jǐ nián ne! Yéye xiànzài zhǐ xiǎng xiān wā dào shuǐ, hǎo jiāo wǒmen de càidì.
Ha! That would take years. Right now I just want to hit water so we can water our vegetable patch.
- Xiao Lan 那边的小朋友会说：“哎呀，谁在我们的脚下挖洞呀？”
Nà biān de xiǎopéngyou huì shuō: “Āiyā, shéi zài wǒmen de jiǎo xià wā dòng ya?”
The kids over there will say, "Hey, who's digging a hole under our feet?"
- Lao Yang 那你就说：“对不起，我在找水！”他们会给你一杯茶。
Nà nǐ jiù shuō: “Duìbuqǐ, wǒ zài zhǎo shuǐ!” Tāmen huì gěi nǐ yì bēi chá.
Then you say, "Sorry, I'm looking for water!" and they'll give you a cup of tea.
- Xiao Lan 我不要茶，我要一大块冰凉的西瓜！
Wǒ bú yào chá, wǒ yào yí dà kuài bīngliáng de xīguā!
I don't want tea. I want a big cold slice of watermelon!
- Lao Yang 好，先有水，再有西瓜。咦？这是什么？
Hǎo, xiān yǒu shuǐ, zài yǒu xīguā. Yí? Zhè shì shénme?
Okay, water first, then watermelon. Huh? What's this?
- Xiao Lan 怎么了，爷爷？是石头吗？
Zěnme le, Yéye? Shì shítou ma?
What is it, Grandpa? Is it a rock?
- Lao Yang 不是石头。它有一点圆，还有点儿滑。让我用手挖一挖。
Bú shì shítou. Tā yǒu yìdiǎn yuán, hái yǒudiǎnr huá. Ràng wǒ yòng shǒu wā yi wā.
Not a rock. It's a little round, and a little smooth. Let me dig with my hands.
- Lao Yang 啊！有一个人头！
Ā! Yǒu yí gè réntóu!
Ah! A head! A human head!
- Xiao Lan 鬼！有鬼！爷爷，快上来！
Guǐ! Yǒu guǐ! Yéye, kuài shànglái!
A ghost! There's a ghost! Grandpa, come up quick!
- Lao Yang 别怕，小兰！你看，它是泥做的，不是真人，一点儿也不可怕。
Bié pà, Xiǎolán! Nǐ kàn, tā shì ní zuò de, bú shì zhēnrén, yìdiǎnr yě bù kěpà.
Don't be scared, Xiao Lan! Look, it's made of clay. It isn't a real person, and it isn't scary at all.
- Xiao Lan 可是泥做的人头，为什么会在我们的田里呢？
Kěshì ní zuò de réntóu, wèishénme huì zài wǒmen de tián lǐ ne?
But why is there a clay head in our field?
- Xiao Lan 他的脸好安静，好像正在看着我们。
Tā de liǎn hǎo ānjìng, hǎoxiàng zhèngzài kànzhe wǒmen.
His face is so calm. It's like he's looking at us.
- Lao Yang 你看下面，还有肩膀，还有另一个头……还有更多！
Nǐ kàn xiàmiàn, hái yǒu jiānbǎng, hái yǒu lìng yí gè tóu… hái yǒu gèng duō!
Look below. There are shoulders, and another head... and even more!
- Xiao Lan 爷爷，他们是谁？他们为什么睡在地底下？
Yéye, tāmen shì shéi? Tāmen wèishénme shuì zài dìdǐxia?
Grandpa, who are they? Why are they sleeping deep underground?
- Lao Yang 他们是兵。两千多年以前，有一个很有名的人，让很多人做了几千个泥兵。
Tāmen shì bīng. Liǎng qiān duō nián yǐqián, yǒu yí gè hěn yǒumíng de rén, ràng hěn duō rén zuò le jǐ qiān gè ní bīng.
They're soldiers. Over two thousand years ago, a very famous man had many people make thousands of clay soldiers.
- Xiao Lan 几千个？天哪！那个人到底是谁？
Jǐ qiān gè? Tiān na! Nà ge rén dàodǐ shì shéi?
Thousands? Oh my! Who on earth was that man?
- Lao Yang 他叫秦始皇，是中国的第一个皇帝。
Tā jiào Qín Shǐhuáng, shì Zhōngguó de dì yī gè huángdì.
His name was Qin Shi Huang. He was China's first emperor.
- Xiao Lan 我在学校听过他的名字！可是老师只讲了一点点，我还想知道更多。
Wǒ zài xuéxiào tīng guo tā de míngzi! Kěshì lǎoshī zhǐ jiǎng le yìdiǎndiǎn, wǒ hái xiǎng zhīdào gèng duō.
I heard his name at school! But the teacher told us only a tiny bit, and I want to know more.
- Lao Yang 因为他的故事又长又奇怪。他有好的地方，也有不好的地方。
Yīnwèi tā de gùshi yòu cháng yòu qíguài. Tā yǒu hǎo de dìfang, yě yǒu bù hǎo de dìfang.
Because his story is long and strange. He did good things, and he did bad things.
- Xiao Lan 那你快给我讲！这个故事，要从哪里开始讲？
Nà nǐ kuài gěi wǒ jiǎng! Zhège gùshi, yào cóng nǎlǐ kāishǐ jiǎng?
Then tell me quick! Where does this story begin?
- Narrator 太阳慢慢下山了。老杨和小兰坐在井边。
Tàiyáng mànmàn xià shān le. Lǎo Yáng hé Xiǎolán zuò zài jǐng biān.
The sun slowly went down. Lao Yang and Xiao Lan sat by the edge of the well.
- Lao Yang 故事的开头，秦始皇还没有出生。那时候，有一个商人。
Gùshi de kāitóu, Qín Shǐhuáng hái méiyǒu chūshēng. Nà shíhou, yǒu yí gè shāngrén.
At the start of the story, Qin Shi Huang wasn't born yet. Back then, there was a merchant.
- Xiao Lan 商人？做生意的人，和皇帝有什么关系？
Shāngrén? Zuò shēngyi de rén, hé huángdì yǒu shénme guānxi?
A merchant? What does a businessman have to do with an emperor?
- Lao Yang 关系很大！他做了天下最大的一笔生意：他买了一个王子。
Guānxi hěn dà! Tā zuò le tiānxià zuì dà de yì bǐ shēngyi: tā mǎi le yí gè wángzǐ.
A very big one! He made the biggest deal in the world: he bought a prince.
- Xiao Lan 买了一个王子？！
Mǎi le yí gè wángzǐ?!
He bought a prince?!
What changed in the story?
- Why are Lao Yang and Xiao Lan digging a new well?
“我们家的旧井里，也一点儿水都没有了”
- What does Xiao Lan ask about digging?
“会挖到地球的那一边吗”
- What does Xiao Lan first think the clay head is?
“鬼！有鬼！”
- What are the clay figures?
“他们是兵”
- Whose story does Lao Yang say he will tell?
“他叫秦始皇，是中国的第一个皇帝”