Dedicated to my family for always being there for me.

The Rich Man's Daughter A story from China By Tsiala Corboz Werntz

Once upon a time in a little village called Liqian on the edge of the Gobi desert, there lived a poor farmer named Jun Jiang. He was a strong, handsome, but rather skinny man since he had to work in his eld all the time. He had his black, long hair tied behind him to not bother him when he worked in the elds. His only clothes were the ones he wore, a tunic made of hemp, the clothes for the poor. The only things he owned were his small dry eld and his clay hut, crackling from the drought. In his hut was his kang, a low couch that one could do almost everything on, and a cooking stone. He also owned his love for Jia. Jun Jiang, or True Yangtze River in English, was in love with Jia. Jia was the rich man's daughter. Her name stood for beautiful and beautiful she was! Her

silky hair always was thrown to one side and she wore a beautiful silk tunic, going down to the ground, unlike the men's that only went to their knees. The one thing she was missing was bound feet. Her father had never wanted that for her since he knew how much pain it was. But that was no problem for Jun Jiang. He liked her because of who she was and not what she looked like. The problem was that Jun Jiang was not the only one to love her. Another man, named Lei, whose name meant thunder, also liked her, but only for her wealth. Lei was a small stocky man with a square jaw and a high self esteem.

One day, the two men were bickering. "You are a running dog! You are not worthy enough for Jia to look at you!" Lei shouted in Jun Jiang's ear."I can't stand it anymore paper tiger. Let go of me and leave me alone!" said Jun Jiang calmly. They nally came to agreement that they should go see the father of the girl to nd the answer to their problems. He was wearing one of his ner silk tunics. When they told him of their problem, he said "You both have lost face because of your constant ghting. If one of you fullls the task I will ask of you, you will save face and will marry my daughter. The other will be shamed forever more and will have to move away from here and go work to build the Great Wall of China! Now, does anyone want to back out of the offer as to

not risk their life?" Neither of the men raised their hands. "Good. You are both brave men but only one is the best. Here is the task, you must go to the Yangtze River, nd the treasure that will make you richer than I, and then return to me. To help you with the quest, I will give you each a special stone. In it are three wishes. Use them wisely, and you will win my daughter." When he nished talking, Lei immediately ran off. Jun Jiang took his time, walking down the narrow path to his home. He packed his things and thought ahead about the journey, knowing it would be long. He looked at his little house one more time, knowing he might never return, then he set off.

A few days later, when he was walking through the low land, he spotted Lei. Lei was laying down in the grass, moaning. Jun Jiang knelt down beside Lei. He looked closely at the hurt expression on his face. Lei clutched his stomach and groaned. Jun Jiang, feeling bad for Lei, used one of his wishes. He knew it was his competitor but his heart opened up to the man, laying on the ground, moaning and it no longer mattered who it was. "I wish Lei would feel better!" he said. Automatically, Lei's stomach stopped growling. Lei opened his eyes and was startled. "What are you doing here?" he said, "And for that matter, what am I?" After saying this, he quickly got up and

swiftly walked away, muttering to himself.

When Lei got to a village near the Yangtze River called Chongqing, he saw an old man. "Hei Ni, hey you! Where are you going?" the old man asked. Lei, being in not so good of a mood, told the man, "None of your business, Chulu de lo nnrn, ugly old man!" The old man, feeling hurt, turned away."Dngdi, Wait!" Lei urged.The old man kept walking."Dngdi, wait I said!" Lei shouted before the old man went into his home. "I wish that this man becomes very poor!" he spat. A few seconds later, he heard the old man moaning in sadness and smiled to himself. Then he found himself a nice boat and paddled away.

A day or so later, Jun Jiang found himself in the very same place.

There was an old man, in rags. The old man said, "Ninqng de nnrn ma, young man?" He looked straight into the young man's eyes. "Yes, Sir?" Jun Jiang answered politely. "As you can see, I am poor as can be. I am guessing that you are going to the cave of riches?" "Yes Sir, I think that must be it." "Could you bring me back the cai fu charm, wealth charm to make me and this village richer?" "Yes, I will," Jun Jiang told the man. The old man, being so grateful, got the village to build a boat to go across the Yangtze River. It was ready by night time, Jun Jiang set sail to nd the treasure and capture Jia's heart.

That night, there was a big storm. The great waves crashed around him, the white foam ying every which way. Ju Jiang was paddling hard, trying to keep the boat from tipping over and sending him to the bottom of the river. Oh how will I ever get through this he thought, paddling even harder. Suddenly, the boat rocked hard. Ju Jiang held onto the boat as a big wave crashed on him, making him unconscious while the water churned him into their crashing waves. He was sinking, sinking fast but there was still life in him. He was trapped inside this dying body. With his last wish, he asked that Jia marry the man suited for her. What he did not know was that it was him.

A few hours later, Jun Jiang found himself in a shining gold cave with many sparkling treasures. He was laying on the somehow warm oor of the cave in ne silk tunic. There was a big dragon there too with turquoise scales and a long, shimmering tale. Jun Jiang's heart lled up. Maybe there was still a way. Jun Jiang got up, and bowed to the dragon and asked, "Where am I great Sir?" The dragon then replied in his booming voice, "You are in the cave of riches! You have been saved by the last wish in your rock and now you are here. You may only choose one gift so choose it wisely. Jun Jiang looked around, not knowing what to do. He had promised the hopeful old man the cai fu charm, but he also had said he

would bring back the treasure. He wrung his hands, thinking about the consequences of each. Finally, he made up his mind. He worked his way to where the cai fu charm was, shinning brightly and illuminating all its surroundings. It is better to keep a promise and die, than to break it and live. He put it in his bag and, after thanking the dragon, went on his way back to the village. When he got back to the village, the old man was sitting in the same spot. "Did you get the cai fu charm?" he asked, a look of hope on his face. "Yes, I did Sir. A promise is a promise," Jun Jiang answered, pulling it out of his bag. Jun Jiang held it out. The old man's eyes opened wide. The charm bathed the village in gold and silver. The elder quickly organized a big party in Jun Jiang's honor. To thank him, they made him leader of their now rich village. Now, Jun Jiang was richer than the richest man in his village. A big smile spread across his face. When the party was over, Jun Jiang told the village people that he had to get his belongings from home. They gave him a horse to make the journey back easier. It turns out the horse was magical so he was home in one day.

Meanwhile, Lei was still on the other side of the river. He had been thinking about how to get more money than the Jia's father. Suddenly, he jumped up and ran for his rock. "I want more money than the father of the girl!" he ordered. Immediately, in front of him were four bags full of Yuan, Chinese money. Happily, he picked up the four bags and then made his third wish, "I want to be at my village now!" he said and immediately found himself in front of Jia's home. When Jia's father saw both men, he went out to greet them. "So, who has won my daughter?" he said, grinning, Both men smiled back. Lei brought out the four bags of Yuan. "So you must have won!" the father of the girl said, turning to Lei. "No Sir," Jun Jiang exclaimed, "I have been made leader of the now rich village of Chongqing" Jia's father stared in astonished. He had heard just a day before that a village near the Yangtze had become very rich because of a young man but he never would have guessed that it was Jun Jiang. Now he was confused. Who was to marry his daughter. He told the men to go back home while he

decided. Who would it be? Lei had brought four bags of Yuan but Jun Jiang was leader of a rich village! Finally, he found the answer. He called the two men back to his house and told them, "Lei brought four bags of Yuan. Four is an unlucky number. I do not want my daughter to marry an unlucky man. Besides, some day, the four bags will run out of Yuan and then you will be poor. Jun Jiang, on the other hand, will never be poor since

he is the leader of a rich village. I want my daughter to be happy and healthy so I will have Jun Jiang marry her." That very evening, Jun Jiang and Jia were paraded around town on the magic horse and married while Lei moved away to go work on the Great Wall Of China. Then the couple lived happily ever after in Jun Jiang's rich village and had many children.

Glossary

kang a low couch that one could do almost everything on bound feet in China, they used to bind the feet of young girls, breaking the foot and bending it under to make it small enough to t in ones palm was the style back then Hei Ni Meaning: Hey you Chulu de lo nnrn Meaning: Ugly old man Dngdi Meaning: Wait Ninqng de nnrn ma Meaning: Young man? Cai fu Meaning: Wealth Dragon A symbol of power, strength, success, luck and honor Yuan Chinese money The Number Four In China, the number four sound like the word death. For this reason, four is an unlucky number.

About the author: I am a 13 year old girl who lives in India. Born in Switzerland, I lived in 7 different countries (Georgia, Switzerland, France, Azerbaijan, Nepal, USA, India) I wrote this book because I thought it would be interesting to learn more about China since I have been taking a Chinese class in school. I have never been to China but I think it is an interesting place that I might someday visit. I this is my rst folk tale story and I have really enjoyed writing it!

This is a colorful story that ows naturally and keeps the reader wanting to know the end. - Jean-Paul Corboz Beautiful drawings woven into an exciting story with a moral teaching. - Mary Werntz The pictures are nice because they help you understand the story. - Savi Dunia Corboz Werntz

Physical, Political Map Of China

http://teacherpages.hallco.org/webpages/dpeake/units.cfm?subpage=457550