The Sacred Jade Buddah
Western Academy of Beijing , Azzopardi , Jeremy - 9
T he atmospheric smell of incense filled the temple hall with spirituality . It was August 13 , 1937 , and six-year-old Hong Mei was praying with her family at the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai . As she was praying , seeing all the intense devotion around her , Hong Mei realized how important the Jade Buddha was to herself and to her family .
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When they arrived home , Jian Fu , Hong Mei ’ s dad , recounted a story whilst her mum , Hong Hua prepared breakfast . The story was about the former emperor of the Qing Dynasty , Puyi . When Jian Fu was born , everybody respected the emperor . Then in 1911 , everything changed . “ There was the Xinhai Revolution ! And the new Republic that we know now was born !” he exclaimed cheerfully . Jian Fu explained that a civil war then broke out and the Communists and the Nationalists fought each other . “ But on December 22 , 1936 , the Communists and the Nationalists united against the Japanese ! The Japanese started to invade China , that ’ s why they united ! They are still fighting right now !” exclaimed Jian Fu in a patriotic tone . Hong Mei was fascinated by her father ’ s story and information . After breakfast , Hong Mei went for a stroll along the Bund to the Yu Yuan Garden . She thought about the Jade Buddha and somehow she felt a strong bonding to it .
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When Hong Mei arrived in the Garden she met her seven-year-old friend named Xiu Lan . “ What do you want to play ?” asked Hong Mei . “ Let ’ s play … Ti Jian Zi ” said Xiu Lan . She tried to keep the shuttlecock of the ground using her feet but she struggled . All of a sudden the girls heard a man shouting in alarm . “ The Japanese have invaded Shanghai !” said the man hysterically . “ What shall we do ?” asked frantically Hong Mei , as she also started panicking . “ Run , run away !” said the man and he vanished . “ What shall we do ?” asked Xiu Lan . “ No time for explanations ! The Jade Buddha ! Let ’ s go and get the Jade Buddha !” exclaimed Hong Mei . And they ran in a frenzy towards the temple .
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When they arrived at the entrance , they saw two soldiers with a headband and a big red dot on their foreheads . They attempted to go in but the soldiers stopped them . “ What are you doing ?!” asked one soldier furiously . “ We are going inside to pray ,” said Hong Mei , trying to hide their real intentions . “ Ha , ha !” said both soldiers laughing . They grabbed Hong Mei and Xiu Lan and took them to a very strange building and gave them to their commander . “ What did you do ?” asked the commander . “ We were going inside the Jade Buddha temple to pray ,” lied the frightened Hong Mei . “ Come with me ” said the commander in a very stern voice . The frightened girls followed the commander up the stairs … “ Stay here ”, he told them and then shouted : “ Ito ! Ito , put these girls in their cell !” The girls were trembling with fear .